LITERARY GARDENS: The imaginary gardens of writers and poets, lovely (self-)gift object

LITERARY GARDENS: The imaginary gardens of writers and poets
SANDRA LAWRENCE (illus. Lucille Clerc)
Frances Lincoln Ltd (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$26.00 all editions, available now

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: This book celebrates the most enchanting gardens from literature and re-imagines them with beautiful artworks. Gardens both real and imagined have long captured our imaginations. They are places of mystery and magic, beauty and danger, romance and revelation; writers have used them to reflect longing and create unforgettable moments of drama, escape, and wonder.

Literary Gardens explores thirty of the most atmospheric and emotionally charged gardens in literature. From The Secret Garden and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to Rebecca and The Great Gatsby, these fictional gardens capture the atmosphere and emotion of the stories they belong to. Some feel peaceful or nostalgic, others are rich with mystery or unspoken tension—each is shaped by the characters and moments that are revealed within them. In Literary Gardens, readers will uncover new stories and rediscover old favourites, guided by Sandra Lawrence’s lyrical storytelling and Lucille Clerc’s evocative vision.

Literary Gardens is a tribute to the spaces that have stayed with us long after the final page—a perfect gift for yourself, or anyone who has ever wanted to step through the page and into another world.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: What makes a gift book memorable? The thought you put into choosing it, of course; also the beauty of the object, the subject being presented, the way you wrapped it (or didn't). We all want pretty things as we define them around us.

Artwork and mini-essays that blen the strengths of each medium are a sure-fire hit...anyone who's read The Great Gatsby will have a picture of the garden in their head...but that's a bit the problem for me. My picture isn't quite this picture.

It's lovely as art, and gifted to the right art-lover, the essays really do fit with the artwork. I'm just not quite there with the fit with the selected reads.

Beautiful thing, this is, so don't stop yourself from getting and enjoying it.