The victory garden /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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 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.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

This latest historical novel from Bowen (Farleigh Field; Tuscan Child) opens with a letter from Emily Bryce to her friend Clarissa, who's serving as a nurse in France during World War I. Emily is eager to join the war effort, but her parents are keeping her at home. It isn't long before she meets an "unsuitable" recuperating Australian pilot and falls in love. After her 21st birthday, she joins the Women's Land Army and leaves home, continuing the relationship until he's sent back into battle in France. Readers witness the British class system on the brink of change, and the bonding that steers the "land girls" through challenges of life and the war, as they learn farming skills, finally landing in a small village to help an arrogant and lonely aristocrat restore her estate. Tragedies strike, yet people grow and pull together in this rewarding romantic historical romp. VERDICT Lovers of history will better understand the sacrifices in England during the Great War, while romance fans will revel in the engagement and growth of the characters. Another great read from the award-winning author.-Cheryl Bryan, Orleans, MA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Rhys Bowen was born Janet Quin-Harkin in 1941 in Bath, England. She earned her bachelors degree from the University of London. Soon after graduation she worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation as a studio manager and writer. She then took a job working for a textbook company developing reading texts before writing her own books. Her first picture book - Peter Penny's Dance - was published in 1976 and changed her career to children's book author. The book earned praise and won numerous awards. In 1981 she wrote a teen novel entitled California Girl which became the first installment in Bantam's Sweet Dreams series. This series grew to include novels such as Love Match, Daydreamer, and Ten-Boy Summer. These Sweet Dreams books started a major trend in young adult publishing. they were praised as an encouragement to reading. Janet Quin-Harkin also authored non-series fiction for adolescents such as award winning novel Wanted: Date for Saturday Night and Summer Heat. She also wrote the young adult historical novels Madam Sarah and Fool's Gold. She then moved on to writng mystery novels whcih included her Constable Evans series. Her book Royal Blood made the New York Times Bestseller list.

(Bowker Author Biography)