Literary Gardens by Sandra Lawrence

I’ve really dialled back the number of review books I say yes to (and, let’s be honest, don’t get offered as many as I did in the blogging heyday) – but I couldn’t resist when I was kindly offered a new title from Frances Lincoln publishers. Literary Gardens: The Imaginary Gardens of Writers and Poets by Sandra Lawrence was a lovely concept – and is executed just as beautifully as you’d hope.

The book looks at the gardens created by different authors in their books – particularly those which have a real bearing on the experience of the characters and the imagination of the reader. When I first heard about the book, I thought it might tread very familiar paths – your usual assembly of Austen, Bronte etc, with an eye on the mass market. And, yes, there are some crowd-pleasers in here (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald) – but Lawrence is clearly extremely well-read and very thoughtful in her selection.

Some authors I love that are represented – ‘The Garden Party’ by Katherine Mansfield, Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth von Arnim. We have nostalgia catered to, with The Secret Garden, The Tale of Beatrix Potter, and The Chronicles of Narnia – and then there are authors I’ve never read and, in some cases, never before heard of (Vivant Denon, Valmiki, Sei Shōnagon).

Each chapter introduces you to the book in question, talks a little about the plot and reception and, of course, the setting. Lawrence has an easy, friendly way with words – balancing her research with the affability of a fellow-reader. Here are a couple of paragraphs on Hallowe’en Party, for instance:

One of Christie’s last whodunits, the novel was not well-received on publication in 1969. Alongside pace-slowing throwbacks to previous ‘greatest hits’, she, perhaps unwisely, tries to keep up with the times. Her tried-and-tested but quaint by the 1960s style is littered with everything from long-haired beatniks to recreational drugs, the merits of abolishing capital punishment to the dropping of the eleven-plus exam, televions to – shock – lesbians, in the process, it would seem, both alienating her core and irritating any prospective audiences. […] Time has been kinder, however, than the critics, and while not her most tightly plotted mystery, the basic story of Hallowe’en Party is solid.

The action is mainly set at the imaginary Woodleigh Common, 30-40 miles from London near the equally fictional Madchester. The village’s houses are mainly named for trees: The Elms, Apple Trees, Pine Crest. The only exception is a large Victorian pile boasting a strange garden: Quarry House. Poirot is unimpressed. To him the idea of a ‘quarry garden’ is ‘ugly’, suggesting blasted rocks, lorries and roadmaking, all alien to this olde-worlde setting. 

In each chapter, Lawrence widens from the novel or story itself to a broader look at the author – in this one, for example, she looks at Christie’s own home and garden, Greenway. The chapters are short but satisfying. It’s probably more satisfying if you’ve read the book in question, if I’m honest, but I still appreciate Lawrence’s willingness to introduce us to less familiar authors.

This sort of beautifully produced book (not a ‘coffee table book’ in the sense of merely flicking through, but would grace any coffee table) stands or falls on its accompanying visuals – and Lucille Clerc’s illustrations are a wonderful success. They are so sumptuous, inviting you into the imaginary gardens (or, occasionally, appropriately deterring you). She captures the feel of narrative – none of the images feel static, even the ones that don’t have anybody in. Here’s Mr McGregor’s garden from The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, and I defy you not to want to scurry in.

If you google the book, you’ll find a few other examples. I could stare at them for a long time – Clerc resists being fey or whimsical, and even the most fanciful garden illustration has a groundedness to it.

It’s such a good idea for a book, and it is done much better than I could have hoped for. Such a thoughtful selection, and put together wonderfully. I think Literary Gardens would make a lovely present – but I’d equally recommend it for a purchase for yourself.