A Secret Garden Affair by Erica James

 

                                         

Hardback: 405 pages

Genre: Romantic Fiction, Family Saga, Historical Fiction,

Publisher: Harper Collins 2023

Source:  Tywyn Library

First Sentence: Libby Mortimer was not the running away sort, she really wasn't, but having been given the chance to escape London with all its cruel reminders of romantic fairy-tale weddings, she couldn't get away fast enough.

Setting: Suffolk, England

Review Quote: ‘A wonderfully compelling family drama… Warm, escapist and utterly uplifting’ Sunday Express

My Opinion:  Erica James is one of my long time favourite authors for a guaranteed agreeable read. Once again she has not disappointed me.  ‘A Secret Garden Affair’ is a dual time-line story with delightful characters and a plot that draws the reader in immediately. Mainly set in an old Manor House with beautiful gardens of which the descriptions are wonderful. It is widely known among her fans that Erica James has a tremendous love of gardening. Her inspiration for this novel stemmed from curiosity about garden designers.

The protagonists of the story are Elfrida, the owner of Larkspur House and a prestigious garden designer in her time.  Bess her long time servant, friend and confidant and the latter’s great niece Libby. It is the stories of Elfrida and Bess in the past that in the eighties timeline come together, with so many enigmas which Libby discovers when past and present merge. Libby has grown up spending many happy times at Larkspur House as their guest and it seemed the obvious  place to flee to when her heart is broken.

Highly recommended to lovers of romantic escapism at its best.

Précis Courtesy of Goodreads: 

July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby wants to be as far away from royal wedding fever as possible.

Having caught her own fiancé in bed with her best friend just weeks before they were due to marry, she’s fled London for the comfort of the Suffolk countryside.

At Larkspur House, with its magical garden created by renowned garden designer and one-time socialite Elfrida Ambrose, and its comfortingly familiar kitchen presided over by Libby’s great-aunt Bess, she hopes to find a way to put her life back together.

But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own unspoken secrets, lost loves, and tragedies…

Author Profile:         

                                          

                                                     Courtesy of Authors Website

In the author's own words from her website.

I grew up on the south coast of England with never a thought in my head as a child that I would one day be an author. But somehow, I’m now the author of twenty-four bestselling novels, with recent Sunday Times Top Ten bestsellers including Swallowtail Summer, Coming Home to Island House, Letters from the Past, and Mothers and Daughters.  With sales of over five million around the world, including a No. 1 in Norway, I’m told that my books are loved by readers looking for beautifully drawn relationships, emotionally powerful storylines and evocative settings. 

In 2006 my novel Gardens of Delight won the Romantic Novel of the Year award and in 2020 I received the Nielsen Silver Award for sales of over a quarter of a million copies for both Love and Devotion and Tell it to the Skies. 

I live in Suffolk and travel as often as time permits to see my eldest son and his family in the US and my youngest son in Japan.

Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:

Erica James - Official Website.   Erica James - Twitter.  Instagram - Erica James

Goodreads Author Profile  Erica James - Amazon Author Page.  Erica James - Facebook