What a lovely wee novel!
Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, this pacey historical fiction brings together a number of characters all with one thing in common – their love of, or interest in, botany.
The book unfolds with much adventure and the character development is excellent. At the start of the book we are presented with a list of characters. I’ll admit, my heart sank when I first saw it, because I’ve had many an experience where a list of characters is expected to help you keep on top of excessive characters and make up for poor character development. For some authors it can be a bit of a cop out. Not in this case – phew!
The book itself centres around a rare plant that flowers only once in its life – and let’s just say that many of the characters have their own needs and vested interests when it comes to flowers, seeds and the like! The royal visit touched upon in the blurb takes more of a back seat in the overall story – but enables characters to be introduced and connections to be forged.
We begin the book with Belle – a character I loved! Independent, slightly racy and driven in the directions of pleasure and desire rather than in the direction that society dictates she should go. She is bracing, fiery, independent and able to hold her own. She reminds me a little of the main protagonist in Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘City of Girls’ – confident and unashamed in her pursuit of pleasure. Yes please – we need more characters like this, especially in historical fiction! We have Elizabeth, arrived recently from London following her husband’s death. Demure and at times slightly naïve, but with a heart of gold. Unsure of what awaits her, she is pleasantly surprised and we get to share the joy she experiences as she discovers a Botanic Garden right on her doorstep – and all the adventure that awaits. The friendship that develops between Belle and Elizabeth is really lovely to see – despite its challenges at times!
Now, that’s not to say that Belle or Elizabeth outshine the rest of the cast of characters. All of the characters, including Mr McNab (the head gardener), his son James, Clementina our ageing gossip and the King’s right hand man, Johann, are all brilliantly developed. Most of them have common interests but are all incredibly unique in their own ways with wonderful personalities which enable connections to be made – some more intimate than others!
The pace of this book is excellent and held well throughout the book – even with the more exciting goings on that occur later on. It’s doesn’t trample on ahead at a rate of knots so you get lost in the plot, but equally it isn’t slow and difficult to get through. It didn’t take very long for the paths of the characters to cross – which is something I like in a book where there are many characters and stories. I always find them much richer when they are integrated and play out together, rather than being read separately and eventually coming together towards the end.
My only difficulty with this book was getting used to the writing style which at the start felt rather choppy and at times abrupt, possibly an attempt to write in a more historical style – but which felt a little alienating to me as a reader. There were occasions where I was reading a sentence and felt that I was lacking context – but that would then come later on and eventually filled in the gaps. Once I got into the flow, and the style – I devoured the book in a couple of days.
Overall, this story has plenty of adventure, heart and pace – with some close final edits to pick up on some of the typo’s and other errors in the book – this novel promises to be a fantastic addition to Sheridan’s building repertoire!
Title: The Fair Botanists
Author: Sara Sheridan
Genre: Historical Fiction (with some romance and a little mystery)
Rating: *****/*****
Please note: I was provided with a copy of this book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.
The Cereal Box Reader 