The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly

Sometimes an un-read book follows you — nay, stalks you. This was the case with The Last Garden In England. The publisher kindly sent me a digital advanced reading copy back in 2020 and I dipped into a few pages and said to myself, ‘why, yes, this is a book I will enjoy”... but put it aside. Then a gardening friend raved about the same book (now published) and said she would give me her copy, I thanked her but said I had already had copy from the publisher. I sat down and read the first chapter, but got busy with the holidays, and abandoned it once again. Then the beautiful physical copy –(just gaze upon that cover) — arrived as a Christmas gift from my sister with a note saying — “this looks like a perfect book for you”.

“Uncle, uncle – I give up”, I said to this book that had been nipping at my heels and opened it with the vow to read it straight through. Which I finally did

The Last Garden in England is historical fiction centering around a garden at the fictional Highbury House estate.

It’s 1907 when Venetia Smith is commissioned to design the estate’s garden. Then during the war in 1944, Highbury House is converted to a convalescent hospital. And, in the present day, Emma Lovett is hired to breath new life into the now long-neglected gardens.

We follow five different women who are connected by the lure and love of this garden garden.

I can hear you now, five women set in set in three different time periods, that sounds complicated. Trust me — it’s not, Ms. Kelly does a fine job in keeping all the characters and time lines not only clear, but compelling.

The gardens come to life and are resurrected through these women and we see how these gardens influenced and connected their lives in very different yet similar ways. The three different time periods each had their own distinctive restrictions and freedoms for each of the women.

I’ll tell you a bit more about the characters and the time periods just to get you hooked.

In 1907, Venetia Smith has made a name for herself as a garden designer to the affluent showing 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 do more – they change her life forever.

During WWII, in 1944, land girl Beth Pedley arrives to work on a farm on the outskirts of the village and she hopes this is a place she can settle. Stella Adderton, on the other hand, is desperate to leave her position as the estate cook to pursue other dreams. And perhaps my favorite character is the widow Diana Symonds, the mistress of the Highbury House who is anxiously trying to cling to her pre-war life even though her home has been transformed into a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But as war threatens the treasured gardens, these three very different women are drawn together by circumstances and secrets.

And in the present day, Emma Lovett, is a landscape designer who specializes in bringing long-neglected gardens back to life. Emma has just been given the opportunity to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House estate, designed back in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the gardens’ past, she begins to uncover long hidden secrets.

Yes, The Last Garden in England is centered on a garden, but this not just any garden. This is an remarkable garden with separate garden rooms — there’s a tea garden, a children’s garden, then a bride’s garden, and my favorite the winter garden. Ms. Kelly gives highly accurate descriptions of the garden itself and the plants within. There are lots of roses, some supposedly bred just for the garden. (I took note to see if any of them actually exist.)

If you go to the authors website HERE, you can see videos and read about the gardens that influenced the writing of the book. Venetia is based on the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Ms. Kelly even created a map of her imagined Highbury Estate garden.

I admit The Last Garden in England was indeed the perfect book for me. A grand English house, an engaging story, characters I cared about and all tied together with a believable connection through the decades. Ms. Kelly’s rich descriptions of the garden really enriched the story which made this a very appealing read.

I only regret it took me so long to read it, but now just having finished it I realize this was the perfect time with spring arriving and my garden crying for attention.

If you’re like me, and want to be delightfully transported to a country estate garden, I highly recommend this wonderful novel.

Be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end to learn about the people, historical facts and existing gardens that inspired author Julia Kelly.

A digital Advanced Readers Copy was provided by Gallery Books via Netgalley

Missing by Karin Alvtegen

I love to go explore the little free libraries in various neighborhoods in the city. This one was one of my latest explorations.

I seldom take home a book, and sometimes leave a paperback or two. But you know me, the inevitable happened and, yes, I found a book that intrigued me so much, it came home with me.

Missing is the U.S. debut of Karin Alvtegen, Sweden’s queen of crime writing and the winner of the Edgar award for best novel of the year. Later when I opened it, I found myself immediately immersed.

The opening scene gripped me and, as cliche as it might sound, the first chapter left me wanting more.

Born into a life of privilege, Sybilla has chosen to live her life homeless in Stockholm. With her thrift shop suit and heels, she often sits at a hotel bar and charms a visiting businessman into paying for her dinner and hotel room. One night she chooses the wrong man and when he’s found dead the next morning she is forced to flee. Now she must hide among the homeless of Stockholm, taking each day as it comes, with just a backpack for her possessions, and constantly on the move.

Of course Sybilla is the prime suspect and her situation only gets worse when more victims are found murdered in a similar manner. Ms. Alvtegen skillfully develops the character of Sybilla by interspersing scenes from her childhood alongside her current life on the run.

Scandinavian mysteries have become popular here in the US, since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’m not a fan of the stark writing and bleak atmosphere. But Missing spun fast-paced plot, so I keep turning the pages. And I found the somewhat different perspective intriguing, with the story told by Sybilla the hunted suspect and an innocent one at that.

I found myself invested in the Sybilla’s survival on the street and hiding from the police. With dramatic twists and turns, I was unable to figure out the real killer, and why Sybilla left her privileged life, until the last 6 pages.

Ms. Alvtegen also adds in the background of Sybillas long-lost child. Trust me, all three story lines eventually intertwine into completion. Moreover, the motive for the murders was an interesting surprise and the resolution of the mystery made sense and was satisfying.

Missing was an absorbing and suspenseful story which I found somewhat reminiscent of Ruth Rendell’s writing. It was an interesting insight into Swedish society. A mystery, yes, but it’s also a commentary on those who are forced to live on the streets by unforeseen circumstances or by choice.

I have placed Missing back into another free little library, so someone else will get to enjoy this culturally different page-turner that kept me reading until the last page.

Taste by Stanley Tucci

With some pride, I admit I make a mean spaghetti sauce – a recipe handed down from my maternal great-grandmother who got the original from a newly immigrated Italian family – or so the story goes. Anyway it is Husband’s favorite meal and I make it on his birthday with plenty of extra sauce to freeze for during the following months.

This year, I deviated for Husband’s birthday. Why you may ask? Well I had just started Stanley Tucci’s memoir Taste and the way he describes his families’ ragu made my mouth water. The book contained the recipe (among others) and I followed it to the letter. It was very, very good, – a little simpler, a bit lighter, and fresher. It won’t replace my mother’s/great grandmother’s version, but it was in one of the first few chapters –and I just had to try it.

But lets get to the book shall we? Taste falls into the genre of narrative cookbooks, but this is more of a memoir of meals and should come with the following advisory:

Warning. Reading this book may cause unexpected weight gain.

Stanley Tucci recently had a CNN series touring Italy and …eating … and eating. As I watched the series, I remember how much I like Stanley Tucci – he is funny, smart, and good looking. I loved him in ‘The Devil wears Prada,’ and ‘Julie and Julia. But reading this book, I was also reminded of his film from 20+ years ago ‘The Big Night’ which showcases his love of cooking and food.

Taste is Mr. Tucci’s own story about the importance of food and family. His upbringing and relationship to food throughout his life. A funny and wry writer who leads you through his life, career, the ups and downs, interlaced with frequent recipes, memorable meals and food experiences.

With charm and wit, he shares personal anecdotes to show how food influenced his life and how food connects him to his family and Italian heritage. He also shares his health battles and a very relatable (we were all there) section on how his family handled the pandemic.

Reading Mr. Tucci, I was in the presence of a foodie of the best sort. One who makes sure you are comfortable, with a drink in your hand, and takes undisguised joy in preparing a wonderful meal for loved ones to enjoy around a warm and welcoming table. But it’s not just the cooking and preparing of food. Taste shares Mr. Tucci’s love of good ingredients and our relationship to those ingredients is of great importance.

To me, eating well is not just about what tastes good but about the connections that are made through the food itself. I am hardly saying anything new by stating that our links to what we eat have practically disappeared beneath sheets of plastic wrap. But what are also disappearing are the wonderful, vital human connections we’re able to make when we buy something we love to eat from someone who loves to sell it, who bought it from someone who loves to grow, catch, or raise it. Whether we know it or not, great comfort is found in these relationships, and they are very much a part of what solidifies a community.

While I found Taste a little jumpy and in need of some editing, it was really enjoyable. There are many fun vignettes and the food descriptions are absolutely wonderful — see advisory above. He describes his mother’s wonderful cooking, praises restaurants where he had fantastic meals (sadly many now closed), and goes on (and on — where was his editor?) about food that made a lasting impression on him. His description of the best spaghetti carbonara he’s ever had will have you salivating. And if you’re still using grocery store parmesan in the green can, Taste will have you contemplating saving your pennies dollars for some real Parmigiano Reggiano.

Mr. Tucci is a Hollywood star with famous friends and he does do some name dropping which he endearingly fesses up to right at the beginning. He is also able to frequent the best butchers, greengrocers, and specialty food shops in London where he now lives. Mr. Tucci’s pleas to find the best ingredients may be hard to swallow (pun definitely intended) for some more moderate food budgets. But try to overlook those and enjoy the read.

Taste is a delightful romp through Stanley Tucci’s life, table and career.

HERE is the Tucci Ragu Recipe – well worth making.

Warning: Taste contains profanity, and if you’re squeamish, there is a home slaughter of a goat.

Passing by Nella Larsen

After my disappointment in The Vanishing Half, a kind Book Barmy follower sent me a note and suggested I try the classic, Passing by Nella Larsen. He went on to say it was a much better book, and an important one at that. A insightful story of racial identity and its falsehoods.

That was more than a year ago and although I made a note, it slipped my mind (like many things these past couple of years).

Fast forward to present day and while looking through my shelves for another book, I came across a copy of Passing which I forgot I had.

You see, I have a fondness for this Penguin Classics series and their lovely black spines…but trust me I don’t have as many as pictured here from the library of this blogger. I do have a small stack amongst my books and they are important reads (which I tell myself I should be reading) and most quite slim.

When I saw that Netflix was airing a film based on the book, I decided I must read it before watching the film. With that motivation, I finished Passing in just two evenings (and late into one night), and I’m grateful for the excellent tip from a reader – this was a riveting and thought-provoking novella.

But first a little author background (apologies, if you don’t know this by now, I tend to geek out on the background of authors and the genesis of their writing).

Nella Larson (1891-1964) was born in Chicago to mixed race parents. A Danish mother and her father, also with a mixed race heritage, was Afro-Caribbean. Ms. Larson was caught in between worlds, not quite white, not quite black, so it was natural for her to write of her life experiences. And that’s what she does in Passing.

The story is set in Harlem and revolves around two women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, both light skinned, one secure and happy. Irene accepts her racial identity, while Clare is passing as a white woman and is burdened with all the insecurities her secret causes. Clare married a white, racist man and she lives in a society that would reject her if they knew the truth.

Ms. Larsen takes her readers back to the Harlem Renaissance when African Americans were beginning to come into their own in northern society. It’s also fascinating look at two black women living a glamorous lifestyle in the 1920s.

The trouble with Clare was, not only that she wanted to have her cake and eat it too, but that she wanted to nibble at the cakes of other folk as well.

I found Passing beautifully written and Ms. Larsen’s characters are developed with such visual clarity and verbal accuracy that they dominate the novel. These characters have very different and often astonishing perceptions of racial identity.

It’s funny about passing. We disapprove of it and at the same time condone it. It excites our contempt and yet we rather admire it. We shy away from it with an odd kind of revulsion, but we protect it.

I don’t want to give too much away but there are number of subtexts in the book; the complex relationship between Clare and Irene, repressed homosexual desire, and emotional abuse. Ms. Larsen controls all these stories perfectly; she reveals plot points at exactly the right time and lets the characters drive the narrative.

When it comes to the end, don’t be frustrated – the author lets the reader decide the future. So just give it a good think.

I highly recommend this slim novella – and its examination of the various ways in which everyone is ‘passing’. While written in 1929, it couldn’t be more timely and relevant.

Passing – The Film:

The Netflix film was beautiful and received excellent reviews. Shot entirely in black and white, I found it a fine adaptation of the book. The setting and clothes are stunning. And oh the hats – the hats!

Well worth watching, but please, only after you’ve read the book.

N.B. Another geeky note: Nella Larsen holds her own place in history for being the first African-American woman to receive a Guggenheim fellowship,

A New Year

We spent the Christmas holiday in Palm Springs, as we wanted a change of scene – and that it was. Very unusual to see cactus and palm trees decorated, but we soon settled in and enjoyed the warmer weather.

We stayed at the iconic Palm Springs Tennis Club which is where Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and gang hung out to play tennis and drink by the pool.

I did some reading in the beautiful lobby.

Husband played a bit of tennis in between rain showers

We also got in a little pool time.

The room came with the Turner Classic channel which we don’t get at home. It rained several evenings, so we happily watched some great old holiday films — in between I read this great reissue by the British Library Crime series and Poisoned Pen Press.

This is a collection of mysteries from the Golden Age of mysteries. The anthology contains short stories from both well-known authors such as Cyril Hare and Carter Dickson. But there are also some largely unknown authors

Martin Edwards, who is a regular editor in the British Library series, gives a informative overview of the author at the beginning of each story and tells us how they fit into this age of crime writing.

This collection, as the title says, are written with a Christmas theme and the stories do not disappoint. Here’s just a few in the collection:

Blind Man’s Hood: Carter Dickson (1937)- an eerie and chilling tale in the Christmas tradition of Dickens. Wonderful storytelling and a very enjoyable read.

Twixt the Cup and the Lip: Julian Symons (1965)- an extremely good tale of a perfectly-planned jewel robbery in a London department store, just before Christmas.

A Christmas Tragedy: Baroness Orczy (1909)- an investigation, by Lady Molly, of a country house murder on Christmas Morning, narrated by her maid. An interesting tale, including a wronged suitor and a callous young woman. Our Lady uses psychology to reveal the perpetrator.

I’ve collected quite a few in this Christmas themed series and I am not ashamed to admit it’s largely due to the covers – aren’t they great? I just lay them all out during the holidays — picking and choosing my reading at random.

If you’re not familiar with this wonderful series you can check them out HERE.

Happy New Year. I don’t know about you, but I’m approaching this new year with caution — what will it bring?

Jólabókaflóð

Here’s the Book Barmy annual holiday post…

In Iceland, it is a Christmas Eve tradition to give a book as a gift.

This is called Jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood.

This time of year the sun doesn’t rise until 11 AM & it’s dark by 3 PM.…

So after a brisk (and chilly!) afternoon walk around town with the rest of their neighbors, families snuggle into their homes with a hot drink and enjoy their new books.

Wishing all my fellow book lovers a traditional Jólabókaflóð

Merry Christmas and happy reading, from Book Barmy headquarters

P.S. Husband and I are spending the holidays in much warmer climes…