The Last Garden in England

by Julia Kelly

I read this book by default—the other books I ordered from the library hadn’t come in.  I’m glad I read it.  The story was told by/about three different people in different time periods:  Emma, the restorer of the garden owned by Sydney (granddaughter of Diana Symonds) and Andrew, in 2021; Venetia, the creator of the garden, in 1907; and Beth, the “land girl,” in 1944.  Also in Beth’s time are Mrs. Diana Symonds, the owner of the property where the garden was created, and Stella, Diana’s cook.  There are more characters which add to the story and carry it along.  Highbury House is the home where the gardens are being restored—quite a number of them, and Emma is trying to restore them to their original as closely as possible. 

Quote

    “‘Well, your nephew is not alone.  He has you,’ said Mrs. Symonds.
    “‘I don’t know if I’m enough,’ she [Stella] confessed.
    “‘None of us is.  I believe that Father Devlin would say that that’s why we meet so many people in our lives,’ said Mrs. Symonds”    p. 206  ¶6-8

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The Lake House

by Kate Morton 

This is another book that takes place in different time periods with different characters, the exception being Alice.  It was a slow start for me when it began with Alice, age 16, written like a 16-year-old.  It improved from there and by the time I met a few of the other characters, including Alice at age 86, I loved it. 

The story tells of a midsummer party in 1933 at the isolated Lake House, when Alice’s 18-month-old brother, Theo, was taken.  In 2003, Sadie Sparrow, an investigator, on leave, visits her grandfather, Bertie, in Cornwall.  While running she happens upon the Lake House, learns its story from her grandfather and his friend, and, being an investigator, begins to search for Theo.  There are plenty of twists and turns, many people who could have abducted Theo, but Sadie eventually learns the truth with the help of Alice and her sister.

Quotes

(I love this quote, possibly because I was raised this way.)  Narrator speaking of Alice’s thoughts as an adult:  “Why as it that so much of the paraphernalia left over from the war made it seem as if it had been polite or quaint or mannerly, when in fact it had been fierce and deadly?  People had been different back then, more stoical.  There was far less talk of one’s emotions.  People were taught from childhood not to cry when they were hurt, to be good losers, not to acknowledge fears.  Even Nanny Rose, who was sweetness personified, would have frowned to see tears when she poured iodine onto scrapes and scratches.  Children were expected to face their fate when it came for them.  Very useful skills, as it turned out, during wartime; indeed, as they were in life.”    p. 228 ¶2

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The Paris Apartment

by Kelly Bowen 

Lia inherits her grandmother’s Paris apartment.  When she arrives she realizes that it hasn’t been lived in for decades.  Then she notices the paintings, the beautiful dresses, and sees the Nazi magazines.  She immediately suspects that her grandmother was a Nazi sympathizer. 

She arranges for Gabriel Seymour, an appraiser and restorer of old paintings, to view the paintings.  She chooses him particularly because his surname and the name on one of the small paintings is the same. 

This is a book set in two time periods with several characters.  Chapters move from one character and time to another.  We learn that Lia’s grandmother, Estelle Allard, was not a sympathizer but one who helped people escape, and that Gabriel’s aunt, Sophie, worked with Estelle for a while.

This drew me in despite the dual time line and the story being told from different characters’ perspectives.  (I should add that there was some language in difficult circumstances.)

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