Book Review: The Botanist’s Daughter by Kayte Nunn

A buried secret…

Present day: Anna is focused on growing her new gardening business and renovating her late grandmother’s house. But when she discovers a box hidden in a wall cavity, containing water colours of exotic plants, an old diary and a handful of seeds, she finds herself thrust into a centuries-old mystery. One that will send her halfway across the world to Kew Gardens and then onto Cornwall in search of the truth.

A lady adventurer…

1886: Elizabeth Trebithick is determined to fulfil her father’s dying wish and continue his life’s work as an adventurer and plant-hunter. So when she embarks on a perilous journey to discover a rare and miraculous flower, she will discover that the ultimate betrayal can be found even across the seas…

Two women, separated by centuries. Can one mysterious flower bring them together?

I borrowed this book from my Sister In Law for a little light reading – a historical fiction book about flowers and gardens could only be a good thing after all. It took me a little while for it to work its way up the TBR pile (as usual), but its moment came quite recently in the middle of a long drive cross-country.

I’m going to tell you what I did – I stopped at Stourhead on the way home from my dad’s house. I bought a little lunch, a rum and raisen ice cream and I sat down on the edge of that gorgeous lake, turned my phone off and read about a ladies off on botanical adventures for a few hours. It was sunny, there were ducks and I had the entire afternoon to myself with my book. It was absolutely blissful!

As for the book itself, there is a dual timeline which is well done. Both characters are endearing and fun to go on adventures with, the settings are interesting and I dipped in and out of the book blissfully for an afternoon. It’s a good book for a little escapism and a mini-adventure, though it’s not shaking any ground.

I would recommend this book for some peaceful you-time, to make you feel chilled and generally satisfied with the beauty of the outdoors.

Please do enjoy, and remember your suncream!