Longwood Gardens Community Read: Author Event on Zoom (Adult Event)

For the fourth year, our library is partnering with the Longwood Gardens Community Read program throughout the Spring and Summer. The 2024 featured adult title is The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly.

A poignant, unforgettable tale of five women connected across time by one very special garden.
Present Day: Emma Lovell has dedicated her career to breathing new life into long-neglected gardens. But when she gets the chance of a lifetime--to restore the grounds of the famed Highbury House-Emma begins to uncover secrets long buried in the garden’s past.

1907: Talented and ambitious, Venetia Smith is the garden designer to the newly wealthy looking to show off their sumptuous country houses. She arrives at Highbury House determined to make the gardens a triumph, never expecting that they will change her life forever.

1944: All land girl Beth Pedley wants at Highbury House is a place to call home. Cook Stella Adderton is desperate to break free of the house’s pull, while its widowed mistress, Diana Symonds, clings to her pre-war life as Highbury is turned into a convalescent hospital. But within the manor’s treasured gardens blooms a secret that will tie these women together for decades. 

Join author Julia Kelly online for a discussion of the inspirations behind her book The Last Garden in England. Explore the real-life people and gardens that inspired her to write this historical fiction novel that exemplifies the meaning and solace we can all find in gardens. Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions. 

The Longwood Gardens Community Read is a program designed to encourage reading for pleasure and start a conversation surrounding gardens, plants, or nature. For more information about the Community Read, go to https://longwoodgardens.org/education/community-read

Registration Required. To register for this program, visit https://longwoodgardens.org/events-performances/events/looking-back-create-something-new-julia-kelly to receive the Zoom invitation. Registration is open to the public. 

Stay tuned for more Longwood Gardens Community Read programming offered at LML in the next few months. 

PA Forward: Basic Literacy