Sandra Lawrence

The main issue with reading a beautifully written book about lost gardens is that I then have to live with the reality of never seeing them in their prime glory.

Lost Gardens of the World is a wonderful book that tells the stories of Gardens the world over that have been lost to time, and often tragic events, some have been found and have restoration work ongoing and some we may never find again. This mix of joy at knowing that something lost has been found and the tragic loss of such show more stunning locations the world over creates a bittersweet read that made me long to create a folly garden of my own. I felt myself being captivated by the descriptions of stunning locations with softly bubbling rivers and fountains, with plants that had been found on expeditions deep into the wilderness, of hot houses made of glass glittering above you, and of marbles and statues of wild and untamable beasts. Combine that with the artwork of the current state of each garden and the book leaves your imagination building up the most stunning gardens for you.

My only true complaint is I wish there was more artwork of what the gardens would have looked like in their primes, I wanted to see the gardens as they were at the peak of their existence. I also would have loved to see more details on visiting those that had been found and restored.

Overall, I would recommend this to those who love gardens, and the mysteries of places lost to time.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased. show less

Rating: 1.5 stars

There are so many amazing women to choose from and you include Hilary Clinton, a Google/Facebook exec and a billionaire (Oprah)? I'll give them a bit of a pass for including J.K. Rowling since this was published in 2018 and she didn't come out with her transphobic views until 2019. But I'm still disappointed at the lack of effort in curating the choices of "amazing women" for this book. Being financially successful does not make someone a feminist icon; being a woman while show more becoming successful in your field is not equivalent to contributing toward gender equity. show less

Lost Gardens of the World is a cool little coffee table book you can flip through and then get lost down the rabbit hole looking up the actual locale. There are lovely illustrations of the gardens as they once were (or as perceived) as well as historical information telling us about the families who owned the land.
Some of my favorites were in England. The garden in Pentewan England was one that had me looking up the Tremayne family and how this beautiful estate and gardens were abandoned. show more Eighty years after the first World War it is slowly being restored. Most of the young men went off to war and never returned, taking the heart out of those left behind.

In 1991 a team of volunteers starting cutting through the tangled overgrown area, finding remains of water features, paths and a lake.

Another very interesting story is about Cougar Annie's Garden on Vancouver Island. Well, it was of interest to me. Annie was quite a character and what a determined woman. She cleared land herself and built up an orchard business, started the Boat Basin Post Office and shot cougars, yes...real cougars.

This is a good armchair travel book with the featured neglected or abandoned gardens in Italy, The Netherlands, Canada, Morocco, Nepal and more. show less

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 show more 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 blend 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. show less