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Discover a garden lost to time and the story of five women whose lives are tied together by one very special place…

The Last Garden in England is a poignant and heartwrenching tale of five women in three eras, whose lives are tied together by one very special place.

Present Day: Emma Lovett, who has dedicated her life to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens, has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to restore the gardens of the famed Highbury House, designed in 1907 by her hero Venetia Smith. But as Emma dives deeper into the garden’s past, she begins to uncover secrets that have long been hidden from history.

1907: A talented artist with a growing reputation for her ambitious work, Venetia Smith has carved out a niche for herself as a garden designer to well-to-do industrialists, solicitors, and bankers looking to show off their wealth with sumptuous country houses. She is determined to make Highbury House a triumph, but the gardens there—and the people she meets—will change her life forever.

1944: When land girl Beth Pedley arrives at a farm on the outskirts of the village of Highbury, all she wants is to find a place she can call home, while cook Stella Adderton could not be more desperate to leave Highbury House pursue her own dreams. Diana Symonds, a widow and the mistress of the grand house, is desperately trying to cling to her pre-war life now that Highbury House has been requisitioned to become a convalescent hospital for wounded soldiers. But when war threatens the gardens at Highbury House, these three women are drawn together by a secret that will last decades.

The Last Garden in England explores the unexpected connections that can cross time and the special places that can bind us together in unbreakable bonds.

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Early Praise for The Last Garden in England

“Kelly’s novel encompasses everything I love in historical fiction: a dramatic setting depicted so vividly I could’ve sworn I was strolling through the gardens of Highbury House as I turned the pages, and a series of stories that intertwine each other effortlessly, echoing the theme of love lost and found. A delight.” —Fiona Davis, nationally bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

"Julia Kelly’s captivating novel, The Last Garden in England is as immersive as it is enchanting...Historical fiction at its very best." —Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis

“An engrossing portrait of three generations of women longing to find their place in the complicated times in which they live. Blooming with warmth and heartbreak.” —Brooke Lea Foster, author of Summer Darlings

“In this beautiful tale of love, heartbreak and re-invention, Julia Kelly draws us deeply into the heart of the English countryside and a mysterious garden where the destinies of women living decades apart collide in unexpected, transformative ways.  Gorgeously written and rooted in meticulous period detail, this novel is vibrant as it is stirring. Fans of historical fiction will fall in love with The Last Garden in England.” —Roxanne Veletzos, bestselling author of The Girl They Left Behind

"Like the petals of Highbury House's enchanting roses, Julia Kelly's latest novel unfurls to reveal layered stories of long-lost secrets. The Last Garden in England is a compelling read, filled with loveable characters and an alluring twist of fates." —Ellen Keith, author of The Dutch Wife

"Bestselling author Julia Kelly plants the seed of an idea, nurtures it into a vivid, intriguing seedling, then fertilizes, prunes, and shapes its various twisting branches into a stunning garden. Connected across the decades by a garden in desperate need of their care, three fascinating women grow alongside one another, shedding secrets and insecurities, eventually blooming with self-realization, hope, and love." —Genevieve Graham, bestselling author of The Forgotten Home Child

“The story-strands twine together like honeysuckle climbing up a trellis, sending out secrets and surprises all the way.” —Jane Johnson, author of The Sea Gate

“[A] touching, immersive read with definite appeal for aficionados of Downton Abbey and Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008)...Subplots involving love, loss, and hope for new beginnings gracefully intertwine, and readers will be enraptured by the garden theme…Like gardens themselves, these pages invite lingering and thoughtful reflection.” —Booklist

“Three women across time are connected by a garden in Kelly’s enjoyable and richly detailed latest… Kelly balances Emma’s detective work reviewing papers and records found in the house with Venetia’s slow-burn tragedy and the twist that defines Beth’s relationship to the gardens. Kelly easily delivers everything her fans will expect.” —Publisher’s Weekly

““Kelly’s decades-spanning story will appeal to gardeners and lovers of Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs…” —Library Journal

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