This Word-Perfect, heartbreaking novel is set in early 1941 in Britain when the war seems endless and, perhaps, hopeless. London is on fire from the Blitz, and a young woman gardener named Gwen Davis flees from the burning city for the Devon countryside. She has volunteered for the Land Army, and is to be in charge of a group of young girls who will be trained to plant food crops on an old country estate where the gardens have fallen into ruin. Also on the estate, waiting to be posted, is a regiment of Canadian soldiers. For three months, the young women and men will form attachments, living in a temporary rural escape. No one will be more changed by the stay than Gwen. She will inspire the girls to restore the estate gardens, fall in love with a soldier, find her first deep friendship, and bring a lost garden, created for a great love, back to life. While doing so, she will finally come to know herself and a life worth living.
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A beautiful evocation of love and loss....Subtle and deeply affecting....Rich and satisfying. -- Minneapolis Star-Tribune
A beautiful novel with substance. -- Bookmarks, Jessica Teisch, 1 April 2003
A finely wrought novel....What brings Gwen to life and makes this novel work is Humphreys's meticulous, lucid prose. -- Margot Livesey, New York Times Book Review
A graceful, poetic novel of love and loss in England during World War II. -- Dallas Morning News, Lee Milazzo, 23 March 2003
Humphreys has a poet's eye, and the story is full of startling images that linger in the mind. -- Lisa Michaels
Humphreys's affecting third novel never fails to couple the realistic with the ideal, the historical with the timeless. -- Matthew Batt, San Francisco Chronicle
Luminous....a stunningly beautiful little gem that lingers in the memory like the heady scent of a damask rose. -- Boston Globe, Karen Campbell, 17 February 2003
Multi-layered in its themes with an undercurrent of wartime passion and danger...unforgettable. -- The Democrat, Judy Gaither and Emily Gaither, 14 January 2003
This is a book to read again and again. -- Nancy Goodwin, author of A Year in our Gardens
Those who, as children, loved The Secret Garden will hear its echo in The Lost Garden....[D]elicate, moving . -- Rosellen Brown --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A beautiful novel with substance. -- Bookmarks, Jessica Teisch, 1 April 2003
A finely wrought novel....What brings Gwen to life and makes this novel work is Humphreys's meticulous, lucid prose. -- Margot Livesey, New York Times Book Review
A graceful, poetic novel of love and loss in England during World War II. -- Dallas Morning News, Lee Milazzo, 23 March 2003
Humphreys has a poet's eye, and the story is full of startling images that linger in the mind. -- Lisa Michaels
Humphreys's affecting third novel never fails to couple the realistic with the ideal, the historical with the timeless. -- Matthew Batt, San Francisco Chronicle
Luminous....a stunningly beautiful little gem that lingers in the memory like the heady scent of a damask rose. -- Boston Globe, Karen Campbell, 17 February 2003
Multi-layered in its themes with an undercurrent of wartime passion and danger...unforgettable. -- The Democrat, Judy Gaither and Emily Gaither, 14 January 2003
This is a book to read again and again. -- Nancy Goodwin, author of A Year in our Gardens
Those who, as children, loved The Secret Garden will hear its echo in The Lost Garden....[D]elicate, moving . -- Rosellen Brown --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Helen Humphreys is the author of 2 previous novels. She is the author of four books of poetry and her work has appeared around the world in many languages. She lives in Kingston, Ontario in Canada.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Star_Sea
Format:Paperback
This book is just beautiful, there is no other way to describe it. It doesn't surprise me that Humphreys is also a poet, because she always has exactly the right description, whether it be of roses or the Blitz or houses. I couldn't believe that she was Canadian, because her description of wartime London are so convincing and so beautiful. The passage which speaks of Gwen's love for London at the beginning of the book rang utterly true for my mother, who also loves the city.
Gwen herself is quite a sad character; rejected by her self-absorbed mother and ignored by men, she pours all her passion into gardening, until she meets two people thanks to the Land Girl movement: Jane and Captain Raley. Jane is recovering from a nervous breakdown, while Raley is heading towards one as he waits to be sent over to Europe. Gwen is clumsy with people, yet she reaches out to these two, and tries to help them, moved by their different yet similar distress. Intertwined with Gwen's discoveries about her two new friends is the discovery of a secret garden at the house where the girls are staying. It is not included in the house plans and Gwen embarks on a quest to find out who planted it and why. There is also a mysterious ghost who steals chickens, which gives necessary light relief to a story that deals with intense issues. The lucid language clearly evokes Gwen's feelings and memories, but Humphreys never allows the story to be bogged down. Her eye for detail is amazing. I intend to buy her other books and read them, and there's no better compliment.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By aphra
Format:Paperback
The Lost Garden is a beautiful evocation of time and place, longing and loss. This is a very well-crafted and moving novel. The images and emotions brought to life by Helen Humphrey's book stayed with me long after I had finished reading it. Both witty and haunting this book is a real gem.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Anna Klein
Format:Hardcover
THE LOST GARDEN is truly a beautiful book -- straightforward and yet told with such sensitivity and understanding it's impossible not to get caught up in it. Gwen's incredibly straight view of love and life makes the poignancy all the stronger. Captain Raley's repressed fear, knowing he is just waiting to be sent out to die, had me crying by the end of the book. In fact, I cried all the way through the last chapter. Though Gwen never gets to know the land girls well (she secretly names them after potatoes), Jane and Raley and Gwen herself are excellently developed. I'm the sort of reader who thrives on constant action, yet this touching little book had me from the first word and never let go.
A brilliant portrayal of love in a time of war, THE LOST GARDEN is a literary arrangement I could not recommend more highly.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a well written book and I have loved reading it.The writer has a wonderful way of describing things and I couldn,t put the book down
By P. Lewis
Format:Paperback
I started reading this book two days ago and finished reading it in less than 24 hours. It is beautifully written and draws the reader right in to the situation. The story is very true to the time it is written about and the characters are very well drawn. I would recommend this book to ant lover of perfect prose.
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