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 seller The Light over London and The Whispers of War comes a poignant and unforgettable tale of five women living across three different times whose lives are all connected by one very special place. 

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. 

The year 1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious 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. 

The year 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. 

In this sweeping novel reminiscent of Kate Morton’s The Lake House and Kristin Harmel’s The Room on Rue Amélie, Julia Kelly explores the unexpected connections that cross time and the special places that bring people together forever.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.