The Last Garden in England

Julia Kelly’s 2021 novel, The Last Garden in England, follows the personal histories of five women living in three different eras, as their lives intersect in the garden rooms at Highbury House. In 2021, Emma Lovell has been hired to restore the gardens, originally designed by the renowned Venetia Smith in 1907; Diana Symonds owns the house and gardens in 1944, where her fate becomes entangled with that of her cook, Stella Adderton, who befriends farm worker Beth Pedley. All of the women’s lives change and grow, like the gardens in which they find love, celebrate friendship, and mourn loss. Kelly specializes in works of historical fiction with an element of romance, and many of her works, such as The Light Over London (2019) and The Whispers of War (2020) have been international bestsellers. The Last Garden in England addresses themes including Preserving Family History, Privilege and Class Mobility, and The Garden as Memory.

This study guide uses the 2021 Gallery Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include depictions of war, child loss, and abuse.