The Victory Garden: A Novel by Rhys Bowen
Read sample
Customer reviews

Authors

The Victory Garden: A Novel

by

Rhys Bowen

(Author)

4.4

-

50,276 ratings


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.

Kindle

$0.00

or $5.99 to buy

Audiobook

$0.00

with membership trial

Hardcover

$17.99

Paperback

$9.99

Audio CD from $22.82
Buy Now

Ships from

Amazon.com

Payment

Secure transaction

ISBN-10

1542040116

ISBN-13

978-1542040112

Print length

367 pages

Language

English

Publisher

Lake Union Publishing

Publication date

February 11, 2019

Dimensions

5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches

Item weight

2.31 pounds


Popular highlights in this book

  • How stupid it is that we are raised to keep our feelings to ourselves, she thought. How ridiculous that I can’t even tell my best friend the truth, that Freddie’s death has shattered our family.

    Highlighted by 319 Kindle readers

  • Like a fox being chased by the hounds, she needed a bolthole in which to lick her wounds.

    Highlighted by 283 Kindle readers

  • The war is over. They just signed the armistice. Eleven o’clock this morning, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

    Highlighted by 235 Kindle readers


Product details

ASIN :

B07FDDPFPN

File size :

5241 KB

Text-to-speech :

Enabled

Screen reader :

Supported

Enhanced typesetting :

Enabled

X-Ray :

Enabled

Word wise :

Enabled


Editorial reviews

“Tragedies strike, yet people grow and pull together in this rewarding romantic historical romp. 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.” ―Library Journal

“Bowen has created subtle depth of theme and character by layering in women from multiple generations…[Her] masterful weaving of these tales builds a nuanced, thematic portrayal of the inherent strengths of women and the male hackles such power can raise.” ―Historical Novel Society

“The Victory Garden is a stunning piece of historical fiction that will grab you from the first page.” ―San Diego Entertainer

“A deftly penned novel by an author with a distinctive flair for originality and an entertaining narrative storytelling style that will hold the reader’s rapt attention from beginning to end.” ―Midwest Book Review

“A captivating story about a determined young woman who learns that she must fight for the people and things that she cares about in a rapidly changing world.” ―The Concord Insider

About the Author

Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty mystery novels, including The Tuscan Child and her World War II novel In Farleigh Field, the winner of the Left Coast Crime Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel and the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Bowen’s work has won sixteen honors to date, including multiple Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. Her books have been translated into many languages, and she has fans around the world, including seventeen thousand Facebook followers. A transplanted Brit, Bowen divides her time between California and Arizona.

Read more


About the authors

Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen

Rhys Bowen is the New York Times bestselling author of two historical mystery series as well as several internationally bestselling historical novels, two of which were nominated for Edgar Award

Rhys was born in Bath, England and educated at London University but now divides her time between California and Arizona. Her books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won twenty of them to date, including five Agathas.

She currently writes two historical mystery series, each very different in tone. The Molly Murphy mysteries feature an Irish immigrant woman in turn-of-the-century New York City. These books are multi-layered, complex stories with a strong sense of time and place and have won many awards including Agatha and Anthony. There are 19 books so far in this series plus three Kindle stories, Rhys’s daughter, Clare Broyles, now cowrites the series with her

Then there is Lady Georgie, She's 35th in line to the throne of England, but she's flat broke and struggling to survive in the Great Depression. These books are lighter and funnier than Molly's adventures. They poke gentle fun at the British class system--about which Rhys knows a lot, having married into an upper class family rather like Georgie's.

As a child Rhys spent time with relatives in Wales. Those childhood experiences colored her first mystery series, about Constable Evans in the mountains of Snowdonia.

Her books have been translated into over 30 languages

Read more


Reviews

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

50,276 global ratings

Jolie Z

Jolie Z

5

Just an awesome, amazing book!

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2024

Verified Purchase

It is now no surprise to me at all why this novel and author have received so many awards for an outstanding literary work of historical fiction. From the moment I started the first chapter I did not want to stop reading. Soon I was praying for a sequel so I could continue to live with the characters who were so precisely drawn through their physical and psychological descriptions. It was so interesting to me, an American woman in 2024, to delve into the lives of these women living through what they thought was “the war to end all wars”. Their positions in society, and the constraints from those positions was clearly shown. Human emotions are also the same whenever in time. And oh! the wealth of information about herbs and homeopathic medicine is just as valid now as then. What a worthwhile novel in all ways! So glad I didn’t miss it. That being said, I’ll be reading more from Rhys Bowen while being ever so grateful for her writing.

Read more

Jabberwock

Jabberwock

5

What an endearing book!

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2024

Verified Purchase

This is a charming and engrossing book which, despite my being very busy, I gobbled it up in a few sittings. Historically, it was interesting to me, because I knew nothing about the Land Girls in WWI. I’d heard about the nurses, therapists, etc., but I’d never heard of the Land Girls despite the incredibly valuable role they played in England during the war. The story is quite engrossing and you will hate to put it down because the trials and tribulations of the main character and her friends are so interesting and believable. I had just gone through all of Rhys Bowen’s “Her Royal Spyness” series and was sad that the next one doesn’t come out for several months, so I decided to explore her other works. I’m so glad I did, because this was a delight to read. I highly recommend this book as well as all of the “Her Royal Spyness” books. Now, I’m going to find some more of her works, which I suspect I will be recommending too.

Read more

Frieda

Frieda

5

The Victory Garden

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2024

Verified Purchase

A wonderful book! Set in WWI England. It has romance, heartache, family drama, friendship, & A good bit of mystery thrown in for extra flavor! I highly recommend it!

More reviews