The Fair Botanists: Could one rare plant hold the key to a thousand riches?

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When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband’s aunt Clementina, she’s determined to put her unhappy past in London behind her. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Now, the majority of stays in 1820 were back-laced, which does make them slightly harder to do up, but helpful maids (which Clementina has) would speed that process up tremendously. It soon becomes clear that much of the mounting interest in the resituated gardens stems from the fervour around the imminent blooming of the prize Agave americana plant and not all of that concern is entirely altruistic. Each become bound together by a rare agave that is about to flower for the first and only time in thirty years, in the newly-formed Botanic Gardens - at least the location is new.

True history lingers in the background as the King is paying a visit to the city so it really come to life. Ella es una viuda "rescatada" de la incipiente pobreza en la que la ha dejado su marido, y a la que su sobrino acoge a condición de que cuide a una familiar mayor y algo senil (Lady Clementina), otra de las protagonistas más divertidas de la novela. Everything in this story is laid out in such painfully over-described lists that there is absolutely nothing to maintain suspense – by attempting to show us the point of view and thoughts of every single character there is nothing left for us as readers to puzzle through or chew on. La historia se cuenta principalmente desde dos puntos de vista de mujeres cuyo interés por la botánica (aunque desde diferentes disciplinas), las hace compartir acontecimientos. 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!Please note: I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved watching these characters blossom, as the flowering or a rare plant has repercussions for them all. And then there's Belle, a sex worker of noble birth who uses her profession to fund her ambition to make a love potion.

I was first drawn towards it by its beautiful floral cover, adorned so prettily with various plants that I missed what was, in hindsight, a glaring red flag splashed across it. The plants were loaded onto wagons and run up Leith Walk and down what today is Broughton Street, through Canonmills. These two very different women find a common bond, forming a friendship that defies society’s expectations . The Graham’s keep separate rooms, with the lady housed in larger accommodation to the rear where a mahogany four-poster is upholstered in sky-blue, fringed damask.When we went to the Waterstones nearby to treat ourselves to some bookish eye candy, this book caught my attention with its gorgeous cover - and once I found out it has two female MCs trying to lead independent lives, botany and Edinburgh right before king George IV's visit in 1822 about which Rory the tour guide told us many entertaining stories, I knew I couldn't leave it there and proceeded right to the checkout, lol. In The Fair Botanists , Sheridan has expertly woven multiple strands of machinations, a heady mix of sex, intrigue, scent, and flora. It’s around this extraordinary moment in Edinburgh history – and the historic visit of George IV to the city later that summer, which led to what became known as the “Daft Days” of runaway royalist enthusiasm. The prose is as captivating as the characters; all fully fleshed out with the secrets and memories that influence their relationships. Mise-en-scéne: yes we get fashion, and food, and period detail and, in this book, a truly brilliant amount of information about early 19th century perfumery, plantswomanship (if that’s a word!

When newly widowed Elizabeth arrives in Edinburgh to live with her late husband's aunt, Clementina, she's determined to put an unhappy past in London behind her. This was a huge process, managed by William McNab, the Head Gardener of the day, who developed new botanical methods to move the larger plants. Independent minded and ambitious, she is prepared to pursue a life of pleasure without concern for social conventions. But as Elizabeth and Belle are about to discover, secrets don't last long in this Enlightenment city . They are challenging ideals, society rules and etiquette and of course, there are those who will not abide by any change from the norm.

You can’t understand where you are or make good decisions about where you’re going if you can’t see where you’ve come from. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. There are many other characters, both real and fictional, who play parts in this story centering around the Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) and the environs of Georgian Edinburgh. This really added to the feel of the story and made me feel much more immersed and absorbed while reading.