“The Last Garden in England” - Julia Kelly

🌼Lovers of historical fiction, this one is for you! Kelly writes a riveting novel involving 5 women who are connected over the time periods 1908, 1944, and 2021. The title refers to famed garden designer, Venetia Smith’s, final design project in England. She would go on to build an illustrious career in the US. 

🌼 We meet Venetia as she is designing the gardens at Highbury House in 1908. Later, amid air raids and rationing, we meet Beth, a land girl stationed at Warwickshire, Stella, the cook at Highbury House, and Lady Diana Symonds, a recent war widow and current owner of Highbury House. In 2021, Emma has been hired by the newest owners of Highbury House to restore the famed gardens.

🌼 Each story line is as captivating as the others. Kelly gives her protagonists such compelling stories, that whether suffering the ravages of war, strict social dictates, or parental expectations, the reader can’t help but want each of them to have their happy ending. 

🌼 I enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it for fans of the genre!