A Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestseller.
From the bestselling author of The Tuscan Child comes a beautiful and heart-rending novel of a woman’s love and sacrifice during the First World War.
As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong twenty-one-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome … effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage.
When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden. The journals inspire Emily, and in the wake of devastating news, they are her saving grace. Emily’s lover has not only died a hero but has left her terrified—and with child. Since no one knows that Emily was never married, she adopts the charade of a war widow.
As Emily learns more about the volatile power of healing with herbs, the found journals will bring her to the brink of disaster, but may open a path to her destiny.
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An atmospheric coming-of-age tale set during and immediately after the Great War. A beautiful story for a long, cozy weekend of reading. In the masterful hands of Rhys Bowen, Emily and the English countryside come to life. Highly recommended!
“The Victory Garden” is a touching story of the ravages of war, love and friendship. It shows how the human spirit copes with loss and becomes stronger. There is also a thread of mystery running through the narrative. Bowen does a masterful job of demonstrating how women’s roles in society and class distinctions began to change during and after World War I. Bowen has an engaging storytelling style that keeps the reader turning pages.
What a wonderful book.
A story of “land” girls who do what they can to help their country (England) during WWII.
Another fabulous book from author Rhys Bowen. Her books are always favorites and this one did not disappoint. Characters that you learn to care about. I did not know much about the farm girls that helped keep farms going during the war when so many men were gone. Truly a great book. 5 stars for this one.
This was an excellent book. Great story and characters taking place during World War One.
As a gardener, I enjoyed this book and thought the characters were well drawn.
In 1918, the war was slowly coming to an end, and young Emily Bryce met and fell in love with a wounded Australian fighter pilot, Robbie Kerr, who was recouperating on an adjoining estate that had become a hospital. Her parents did not want the two to be together and did what they could to discourage any relationship, to the degree of having him transferred out of the area. She then decided that she would seek employment and make her own way, and became a Land Girl, one of the brave women who volunteered to run the farms in the absence of men. She quickly learned how spoiled an upbringing she’d had, and also learned a lot about herself and how resiliant she really was. She manages to visit Robbie, and they have an unexpected overnight trip shortly before he’s sent back to the front. He’s killed in France and she discovers she’s with child. She stays in the area as her high-brow parents would most likely disapprove of her out-of-wedlock child, and ends up working in an upper class widow’s garden. She finds a book in the cottage of a woman who used herbs to keep the neighbors healthy, and learns how to make them herself. There’s a twist at the end of the story that I didn’t see coming, although I probably should have, and a potential new love interest as well.
This isn’t a fast moving story, it took me a while to really get into the story, but I am glad I did. I haven’t read much that takes place during WWI so it was interesting to me, now I’ll have to read the other two in the collection.
I read (via Audible) The Victory Garden over the last two days. A very moving, yet somehow uplifting, story of life at home in rural England during and after WWI, detailing both the WLA (Women’s Land Army) and the many, many war widows and families left behind. The narration was wonderful, and I may have to read it again in the very near future, as it is that good. A+
The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen is an enjoyable read. Historical fiction with romance, mystery and adventure of various sorts. A young girl matures very quickly during World War I due to a variety of experiences in her life. Emily is a strong woman who perseveres through great hardships and succeeds despite everything. There is never a dull moment in Emily’s life or in this book. If I have a complaint, it is only that the book ended. I hope there will be another book to give us another glimpse into Emily‘s exciting life. I think there may be more to her story. If possible, it is my goal to read every book Rhys Bowen has written. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.
I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Rhys Bowen’s next standalone and it’s another winner. Set during World War 11, privileged English woman Emily Bryce wants desperately to contribute to the war efforts. But her insistence on getting involved causes a rift in her family, and brings her more adventure and love than she could ever have imagined.
An entertaining look at the WW2 Land Girls in Britain and a cute twist at the end.
Rhys Bowen never disappoints. This period drama has wonderful characters, challenging events, and inspirational outcomes. Don’t miss it!
Another great! I’ve enjoyed reading all of Bowen’s WWII novels, but this one adds an extra layer of history with Emily’s discovery of Susan’s diary from the 1800s. Emily Bryce is a strong woman who continues on in spite of her many tragedies. I enjoyed the history and the rich characters. Looking forward to more!
This is a good book about WWII in England and how volunteers were very important!
The characters and English village were painted so vividly and splendidly that I long to go see them! I do wish it would have gone more in the further back historical storyline in the 1850s, but it still all fit well.
Overall this is an unforgettable story of a young woman of privilege seeking independence, true belonging and love and finding it in the most unexpected and heartbreaking place. Even with new friends and a new start, can she rise above the trail of bad luck or supposed curse over an old cottage’s occupants who all came to bad ends?
Different from her other works.
I did not anticipate the twists and turns this book would take. An excellent story about a dark time in history.
Enjoyed this story and characters, including the secondary characters who were well-rounded and added much to my enjoyment and understanding of the heroine’s story.
Emily Bryce is a strong and determined young woman who has grown up mostly sheltered from the reality of life during WW1. She has lost her beloved older brother, and loses her Australian airman, but she finds the strength to ‘do her bit’ as soon as she turns 21 and can leave home. Joining the Women’s Land Army is shocking but it is the making of Emily, who finds she is capable of more than she ever imagined.
The strength of all these women to go on in the face of so much loss – the WLA workers, and the many widows in the small village of Bucksley, where Emily and her friends end up – brought tears, and their determination to not just survive, but thrive in the face of such adversity was shown through individual and joint journeys. It was interesting to learn more about the work of the Women’s Land Army.
The author made clear that social class was a determining factor in obtaining justice, through the dual stories of Susan Olgilvy and Emily. If you came from the ‘right class’, you were treated very differently.
The friendships that grew between Emily and the other women of her WLA unit, and Emily and Lady Charlton, were special, crossing social boundaries and only possible because the world had been changed by the war.
An enjoyable read.
Enjoyed this book