Sarah Hardy
The Walled Garden

Sarah Hardy will be discussing her luminous debut novel. It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep.

Set in the Suffolk countryside as it moves from winter to spring, The Walled Garden is a captivating love story and a timeless, moving exploration of trauma and the miracle of human resilience.

Billericay Library, 143 High Street, Billericay, CM12 9AB
Tickets: £8 / £7
Box Office: Online or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948

About the book – The Walled Garden

Even in the darkest days, seeds of hope can grow.

‘We’re a country full of secrets now. And we all just want to forget.’

It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred – those who fought and those left behind.

Alice Rayne is married to Stephen, heir to crumbling Oakbourne Hall. Once a sweet, gentle man, he has returned a bitter and angry stranger, destroyed by what he has seen and done, tormented by secrets Alice can only guess at.

Lonely and increasingly afraid of the man her husband has become, Alice must try to pick up the pieces of her marriage and save Oakbourne Hall from total collapse. She begins with the walled garden and, as it starts to bear fruit, she finds herself drawn into a new, forbidden love.

Set in the Suffolk countryside as it moves from winter to spring, The Walled Garden is a captivating love story and a timeless, moving exploration of trauma and the miracle of human resilience.

‘Richly evocative and transporting’ – Stacey Halls

‘A heart-breaking tale, vividly dramatised, wise and well-observed about the traumatic effects of war on survivors and their families in the little Suffolk community where it’s set. The characters are splendid – they blaze from the page –and the author writes beautifully and knowledgeably about the natural world. A splendid debut!’ – Rachel Hore

‘A tender and lyrical evocation of the restorative power of nature and the garden. This beautiful book had notes of both Elizabeth von Arnim and Elizabeth Jane Howard. More please!’ – Natasha Solomons, author of I, Mona Lisa, Mr Rosenblum’s List and House of Gold

‘Hardy draws you into the heart of a village in rural Suffolk where the residents grapple with the shifts in society and their personal relationships. An enveloping story to savour.’ – Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding 

 

About the author

Sarah Hardy has lived for the last 10 years in rural Suffolk, which is where her novel is set. Before that she lived in London and worked on national magazines and newspapers.

Sarah lives on the Suffolk coast in a converted out-building of what was once the village ‘Big House’, a place where the army was billeted during the WWII. This and the landscape around her, have served as inspiration for The Walled Garden.

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