The Last Garden in England

By: Julia Kelly

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio, Marisa Calin, Danielle Cohen, Katherine Littrell, Siobhan Waring

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the author of the international best sellers The Light Over London and The Whispers of War comes “a compelling read, filled with lovable characters and an alluring twist of fates” (Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife) about five women living across three different times whose lives are all connected by one very special garden.

Present day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long lain hidden.

1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. When she is hired to design the gardens of Highbury House, she is determined to make them a triumph, but the gardens - and the people she meets - promise to change her life forever.

1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home. Cook Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave Highbury House to pursue her own dreams. And widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the grand house, is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life now that her home has been requisitioned and transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens Highbury House’s treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by a secret that will last for decades.

“Gorgeously written and rooted in meticulous period detail, this novel is vibrant as it is stirring. Fans of historical fiction will fall in love with The Last Garden in England.” (Roxanne Veletzos, author of The Girl They Left Behind).

©2021 Julia Kelly. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

One of the BEST Audiobooks I've ever listened to

This book is so immersive and makes you fall in love with every character. The magical way all of the stories blend together thru the decades is spellbinding. The highs and lows will have you laughing, crying, cheering, and applauding. The narrators are cast perfectly. I hope there is a sequel.

Lovely and slow but warning 1 narrator is horrible

I’m not even finished w the book yet but I have to comment.

So far the story is fine. It’s lovely, but slow, but I’m sticking w it for the gardens. But it is slow, and not on the top of the best historical fictions or multiple timeline books I’ve read, which I love. But I’m sticking w it. I’m sure it will be a fine gentle (albeit not super exciting) read altogether.

I don’t know why the other reviews haven’t mentioned though that that narrator for Venetia is AWFUL. She’s so horrible I had to buy the kindle book so I read every chapter she speaks. That’s how bad she is. I mean, even if I tried to just grin and bear it, her voice changes the character of the written word in a way that is so diminutive to the character in the book. It’s just awful. So, enjoy the book, but just warning you, you’ll need to get the kindle as well unless you are made of stronger stuff than me. FYI, I hate criticizing anyone in expressing their talent, but honestly I think she would be fine if she didn’t try so hard to add so much gross dripping drama to her voice. If she read it in a regular tone in would be just fine.

Beautiful!

This novel is the story of a garden and the many lives it touches over time. I found myself caring for the women who worked in and around it. In turns heartbreaking and hopeful and full of resilience, this novel was everything I wanted it to be.

Some readers worse than others

This might’ve been a good story, but I couldn’t get past the overdramatic vocalizations insisted upon by some of the readers. Only made it to chapter 3…

Beautiful story, beautifully presented

Lovely story of several generations of women, all involved in some way with the same garden.
The narration was perfect, different characters, different accents made the transition from one time period to another easily recognized.
I will be looking for more books by this author.

Enthralling, strong women characters

Each of the stories in this book are captivating. The woman are strong and relatable. They are honest and real in their thoughts and emotions. Their stories are well-told, and I was sorry to see the end of the book approaching!

I’m not sure which narrator is which but a couple of the readings were lacking. Some moments were strangely voice or over-acted. However, the story itself is strong enough to survive that.

Lovely Story

Set in the same manor house in three time periods, all connected by the garden, and all featuring interesting women, including the original garden designer. The story ultimately pulls all the threads together to a satisfying conclusion. Beautifully read by different voices for each of the female characters to tell their individual stories.

A Gardener’s Delight

This is a charming and fascinating book. The story includes several generations covering the early twenties, WW ll, and 2021. The creating and restoration of a garden is the focus of attention, and the discussion of plants and flowers are a gardeners delight. As the garden evolves, so do romances. There is something for all readers to enjoy. It is extremely well read and written.

Good Development of Plot and Charecters

Good overall character and story development. It took me awhile to figure out the movement through time and who fit with which years... but it made me reason out the processes.

Too predictable

A great writer but the story was not gripping. You basically knew from the beginning what was going to happen. Her great writing style makes it worth listening to.

Disappointing

Based on previous reviews I expected more from this story. The narration of Venetia in particular was awful, both accent and stilted pronunciation which was very jarring!

enter the garden

takes you straight into the lives of the characters and the garden. loved it. shame it had to end.

Lovely story but accents jarring

This was a lovely story read by multiple narrators and I enjoyed it. However the Australian accented narrator was not quite right for an English country girl and whenever she spoke it was very jarring.