The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly 368 pages
Author Kelly employs one of my favorite plot devices, in this, her third novel: dueling timelines. Most writers use only tow, but Kelly has stretched her writing skills by having three timelines: present day, 1944 and 1907. She does a wonderful job in keeping the characters individualized with the descriptions, but I had a hard time with their voices---all three sounded similar. This caused an occasional problem for me as I sometimes forgot whose story was being told. However, the descriptions of the times and other characters involved held ground me.
The first plotline/character we meet is Emma. Her firm has been hired to restore the garden to Scotland’s Highbury House to its original grandeur. The garden hasn’t been maintained and is grossly overgrown.
The second character is Venetia Smith in 1907. She was hired by the original owners to design the garden in the formal English style. She lays it out in a series of “rooms,” different areas for different emotions…like the Children’s Garden, The Poet’s Corner, the Winter Garden, etc. Interesting enough, Venetia is based on a real-life designer, one that Emma holds in the highest esteem.
The third plotline is 1944. Actually there are three women in this section: Highbury House’s mistress and its cook plus a “land girl,” come to work the land since all the men were off to war.
Three generations of women plan and care for the garden, each with her own story. I found Venetia’s story the most compelling. In the early 20th century there were not many women who owned a business. Second, I found the discovery of Venetia’s original plans in the present day the highlight of the novel. It had the most tension and the most excitement.
The Last Garden in England is touted as for fans of Kate Morton’s novel, The Lake House, but I don’t feel it even comes close. The tension was sporadic, and I still don’t understand the title. Therefore, The Last Garden in England receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.
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