Timeless Beauty

The Memory Garden by Rachel Hore is a delightful dual timeline novel set about 1914 and 2007 in Cornwall.

Both time periods are linked by a house and garden, and a love of painting. In present day there is a research project into the painters of Newlyn. In the past we meet some of these painters.

There is a search for an elusive painter as paintings are found with initials on them but the artist remains a mystery. As the search begins, so the past expands bit by bit as we see the parallels between the two time periods.

A house and garden have been forgotten in time, both need to release their secrets. The reader witnesses parts of the past that were buried and subsequently uncovered in the present. The artefacts hold secrets to the past events.

The Cornish house and gardens are peaceful and tranquil. The reader feels soothed as we read. It is a place of outstanding natural beauty.

I adored The Memory Garden. It was a serenely beautiful book.

JULIA WILSON