The Lost Garden

Helen Humphreys begins this WW2 novel with gardener Gwen Davis leaving war-torn London for the Devon countryside. She's volunteered to lead a group of the Women's Land Army in growing potatoes for the war effort. She's dismayed to find that her troops have already arrived at the manor, not only because she has to take the worst room, one that has recently been set afire, but also because she knows that she has already lost control of the young women who are busy fraternizing with the Canadian soldiers in training at the big house. In truth, Gwen has never led anyone, having grown up an only child, lacking her mother's love. Her only skill in life has been studying parsnip cankers. But luckily, Jane, the second oldest land lady at age twenty-five, steps in and helps her gain control of the young ladies, most of whom have never been away from home.

"The best gardens are a perfect balance of order and chaos," Humphreys writes, and all of the gardens at the manor have become overgrown since the family that owns the estate lost most of their twenty-five gardeners to the war effort. As she encourages her girls to clear weeds and plant seedlings, Gwen investigates the grounds and finds a secret garden. As she strips away the overgrowth, she finds three placards, announcing: love, loss, and faith. Meanwhile, she has fallen in love with the CO of the Canadian unit, who reads poetry. Jane, who has taken charge of the animals, rides one horse through the nights trying to drive away fears for her fiancé who is missing. Soon the Canadians get their marching orders, and the peaceful zone of the manor is no longer an island from the war. The prose is beautiful, taut, and the story' s complexities unfold gradually the way blossoms do in a garden. Recommended for people who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society and The Book Shop by Penelope Fitzgerald.