An enjoyable trip back to the botanical Gardens in Edinburgh as they were being planted/set up.
Some good central characters,one of whom oddly is a flower that we were all waiting for it to bloom.
Belle was definitely the star of the book for me,a woman who knew what she wanted and went to get it,in times where women were often seen and not heard.
Some wonderful descriptions of the plants themselves.

I was drawn to this for Sarah Sheridan’s evocative depiction of Georgian Edinburgh, the power of aromatherapy, and strong female characters. Well written and researched with steady pace The Fair Botanists combines a sense of mystery and suspense from a unique perspective. I loved all the characters obsessive preoccupations; the distilling, the gardening, the meticulous recording of events through illustration. I highly recommend this and am already talking about it whenever I can.

Set in the period of 1822 when the botanic garden of Edinburgh is being moved to a new site, and whilst rumours abound that the infamous King George IV may be about to conduct a royal visit to the city. A duo of women lead the story, which revolves around a rare plant which only flowers once every 30 years. Elizabeth is a widow recently arrived in Edinburgh after her husbands family take her in; she is suffering from a traumatic past and a severe lack of confidence, but she’s got an interest in botanical illustrations and offers to help with the garden project. Meanwhile a clever courtesan by the name of Belle Brodie is also interested in the gardens, but for very different reasons- she is trying to concoct a love potion and she believes a rare botanical scent might be the missing ingredient she needs. The women become friends as the fervour around both the royal visit and the century plant flowering gather pace.

I found Belle to be fairly unlikeable due to her rather selfish behaviour throughout the book, however she was insightful and empathetic towards others and had a nice friendship arc with Elizabeth, and I thought the story around Elizabeth was charming; she was really interesting to read about and to watch grow and get over her fears. The Scots words were a fun element and really added to the atmosphere of 19th century Scotland.

My thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

In the summer of 1822, amasses of trees seem to move through Edinburgh town centre, ready to root themselves in the new, sumptuous Botanical Gardens. Mr McNab runs the glorious gardens and is especially proud of the rare Agave Americana aloe that looks set to flower – an event which only occurs once in a century. Elizabeth, newly widowed and ready for a new adventure, arrives at the house of Clementina, her late husband’s aunt. She is soon drawn towards the beauty and allure of the Botanical Gardens and as a keen artists she positions herself as the flower’s official portrait maker. Belle Brodie is a high-end courtesan who has a secret passion for botany and the art of perfume creation. She hopes to create the perfect love potion that will cement her fortune. Will the Botanical Gardens give both women a fresh sense of purpose? Or will their secrets lay them exposed and bare?

The whole of Edinburgh waits with baited breath for the American aloe plant to flower. The fate of the characters rests on the successful outcome of the plant. Mr McNab up to his knees in debt is relying on the sale of the aloe’s seeds to feed and clothe his family. Miss Brodie whose current ladies bathing oil is a roaring success at the apothecary; is relying on the aloe’s flowers as the secret ingredient to the success of her new love potion. Elizabeth is relying upon the aloe’s blooms to symbolise and herald hope and happiness for her future. Add into the mix the impending arrival of King George III, everyone pulls together to try to make the visit triumphant and perhaps bring fresh, new and much needed investors to the Botanical Gardens.

Elizabeth is my favourite character, we watch her slowly grow into her own newfound independence across the novel, no longer kept in the shadows by her husband. She attracts the attention of the king’s advisor and soon she is able to imagine a world tinted by the soft glow of romance. My second favourite character is Mhairi MacDonald who works at the whiskey distillery and has increased its profits tenfold with her heightened sense of smell – to compensate for her blindness. Miss Brodie wonders if this special girl might be able to help her concoct her love potion and increase its potency.

When the 23 foot aloe finally flowers – will Mr McNab’s secret dealings be exposed? Will Belle gain the scent she desires? Will Elizabeth find her future fortunes in its golden blooms?

An ARC was gifted via NetGalley for an honest review.

Superb storytelling, intriguing characters, and an atmospheric setting- The Fair Botanists by Sara Sheridan was a delight to read!
Set in beautiful Edinburgh in the summer of 1822, when the city is preparing for the royal visit from the King, Sheridan centres the action around the Botanic Gardens, moving to its new home at Inverleith, and the flowering of an exotic aloe plant that only blooms every 30 years.
One of my favourite parts about the novel was its female characters who are shown to have skills, interests and passions that often get overlooked or derided by the male dominated society. I loved how the stories and lives of the characters intertwined and Sheridan does a fantastic job of making the reader feel fully immersed in the world she has created.
I think the novel would make a brilliant TV series, and I will definitely be recommending this book to others- loved it!

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton.

Set in The Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, 1882. For me, this book is about women taking control of their lives. The two main characters are Belle who wants to be self-sufficient financially and is secretly working on a love potion to do this, she is by far the strongest character and seemed ahead of her times. The other MC is Elizabeth, a recent widow from a loveless marriage, who meets Belle through their interest in a rare century plant due to bloom. Elizabeth is the weaker and slightly more traditional character, but I did like how her confidence grew as the story developed.

This is a nice Sunday read in the garden with a cup of tea. 3 stars

Edinburgh, in 1822, is a town full of ideas and innovations. As the grand houses of the new town spring up and citizens move out of the dark cramped old town into the bright modern world. This feels like a place on the brink of something.
It is an auspicious time. Huge trees process along the streets as the botanic gardens are relocated, and the century plant, a plant so rare, whose blooms are so infrequent, that they have never been seen in Europe, is set too flower.
All this against a back drop of the frantic plans for the visit of King George IV.
Belle and Elisabeth revel in this intoxicating atmosphere of freedom and discovery. They are brought together by their love of botany and fascination with the century plant. Both intelligent and independent, they form a strong bond. But, Belle has many secrets, and her interest in the century plant is not without motive – The stakes are higher than anyone imagines.
This is really historical fiction at it's best. I felt transplanted in time and place. The author captures the spirit of the new town, that still lingers to this day, so perfectly. The characters are complex and engaging, the writing is witty and sharp. I read a lot of romantic fiction but it was a real joy for a change to read a book where the female characters have a lot more to talk about and think about than men. Belle and Elisabeth are strong minded independent women with their own ideas.
I have read a couple of other books by this author and enjoyed ever one – I really recommend her.

A wonderful story about a widow and her transformation as well as history of Scotland's Botanic Garden in the 1820s. Great characters and a mix of fact and historical fiction

My thanks to Sara Sheridan, Hodder and Stoughton and Net Galley for the ARC of THE FAIR BOTANISTS. I love Edinburgh, I love historical fiction. I love horticulture. I really loved this novel. Beautifully written with loads of interesting stuff. My favourite character far and away was Belle Brodie, a woman with her own mind, naughty, irreverent, and willing to take risks to secure her future. Fab.

Perfectly paced, romantic and full of intrigue, The Fair Botanists is a truly wonderful story where women take centre stage. Set against the lush backdrop of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh, Sheridan has created a vibrant, vivid world to disappear into.

The writing is exquisite, and reminded me of Michel Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White. The theme of the rare (at the time) plant which flowers only once, and what ultimately happens to it, is cleverly done, showing Belle to be a woman who is truly in control of her own life. Women in 19th century Scotland had more freedom than in other parts of the UK, and Sheridan shows how each of the female characters take control of their lives, but it is not without difficulty or danger. Each character is richly drawn and full of life, and though Belle was undoubtedly my favourite, Mhairi also stands out as a strong, colourful woman. I would love to read more of her and her journey.

Right book, right time. I enjoyed this tremendously, and set aside everything else to read it. Thanks to #NetGalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for letting me read this before publication - it doesn’t actually hit the shelves until August!

1820s Edinburgh: Elizabeth moves in with her (deceased) husband’s elderly cousin. The botanic garden is being physically moved from Leith to the grounds next door. And Isabel Brodie, courtesan and entrepreneur, is making plans for her future.

It was no surprise to learn that Sara Sheridan is an Edinburgh native - her love for the city and its history shines through. I particularly enjoyed seeing the lives of these women who weren’t working class, but were slightly set apart from polite society, and how they made their way. And I enjoyed that the servants were all real people with real lives going on, even if their stories weren’t central.

The storyline was great - this is a fun, light read. I did have to suspend disbelief in a couple of places, however - at times the characters didn’t quite behave as I’d have expected/entirely believed.

That aside, I loved reading this, am delighted to discover a new author with a back-catalogue I can fling myself at, and have decided who’s getting a copy of this for Christmas!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of the latest book by Sara Sheridan.

The book is set in Edinburgh and features 3 very different women as the main characters ....Lady Clementine - an elderly lady and cousin to Elizabeth's late husband, and Belle - a courtesan and grand-daughter of a duke....

The book is based on the move of the botanical gardens and is featured around the rare flowering of the Agave Americana.... lots of twists to the tale to keep the reader interested.

For readers of historic fiction, this is a must for your summer reading list!

#sarasheridan #netgalley #thefairbotanists

I loved this book – but then I am a keen gardener and plant afficionado and as it happens I collect agaves and aloes especially, of all succulents and exotic Mediterranean plants. Not cactii. But a few euphorbia. Preferably not too prickly! I do have an Agave Americana in my collection, and interestingly of all agave, these are now the most common, even though, to be honest, I have never seen one flower in a garden. I have seen them flower on Mediterranean mountain sides. The flower is not very exotic. Normally they grow a lot of offsets and propagation is through them. I have masses of grey agave from offsets.
I thought that the sensory discussion about smells having colours was interesting as this is a well known phenomena – people also have music colours and taste colours. And I liked the idea that smells produce emotions as people often associated perfume with a particular time, place, or person.
The setting up of the new Botanical Garden was fascinating. And how they transplanted the trees. In barrels. I always thought that they used sacking round the roots to transplant and to remove the soil. This was clearly a very different, and perhaps less brutal way, as the finer roots wouldn’t be damaged.
The argument over whether a botanical garden is for medicinal uses still ranges – especially now that we discover that many plants that were once thought to be ornamental – such as green beans – are now used for food; and others such as yew are used to extract (a cancer) drug from it called paclitaxel (Taxol), which is an antimitotic agent which stops cell division, resulting in cell death and this prevents cancer growth.
I knew about pineapples being a status symbol and that many wealthy plantation owners put a pineapple finial on their gates to indicate that they had grown them, but I was unaware about strawberries being a new plant. According to wikipedia, the garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France, in the 1750s via a cross of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America and Fragaria chiloensis, which was brought from Chile by Amédée-François Frézier in 1714. Strawberry fragrance is extremely complicated – it has 31 elements that give it its flavour and scent and it is claimed to be useful in alleviating diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis.
I did like the idea of a bath oil to help alleviate period pains – the doctors all being male (at this time, and what about later researchers and grants?) would think that was nothing to concern themselves over. And so it has continued for many years. As has been said, if only male doctors got periods there would have been a cure for the pain and discomfort long ago! Today the use of oil for cramps is common in the complementary medical world, and they recommend: peppermint, lavender, cypress oil, clary sage, rose, copaiba, cinnamon, and bergamot peel, roman chamomile flower, ylang-ylang, cedarwood, geranium, fennel seed, carrot seed, palmarosa herb, and vitex leaf berry, not to mention siberian fir. So there is a large number of essential oils that can help and special blends are available.
So what did I think of the book apart from all this wonderful plant knowledge? I loved it. I thought it very clever the way the various stories about the people of Edinburgh were blended into the story of the Botanical garden move and the excitement over a unique flower and other special, and new to that time, plants. The style was good and easy to read as well as being informative. We well understood that this was a blend of historical facts and fiction. The visit in 1822 of the Prince Regent to Edinburgh was real. Sir Walter Scott and his insistence on tartan for the dress code elevated the fabric to become again symbol of identity – as it had been forbidden after the Jacobite Rising.

My first novel by Sara Sheridan, but definitely not my last. I have enjoyed The Fair Botanists from beginning to end. Excellent pace, wonderful characters, interesting setting.

Edinburgh, 1822 - a number of lives are brought into contact around the moving (yes, moving!) Botanical Gardens. I had to read twice the opening paragraph, so operatic and weird (it did make quickly total sense, such an exciting, REAL historical event!) and a most satisfying narrative ensues in which women take centre-stage: a talented and bruised young widow, a creative and quirky courtesan, an old shrewd aristocrat, an enterprising Gael young woman... and of course a whole retinue of male characters: from the very real Sir Walter Scott, and the Garden´s director (Mr Graham) and head gardener (Mr McNab), to the fictional King´s envoy Mr von Streitz. George IV´s impending real trip to Scotland is a central element of the storyline which also revolves around an exotic plant and its flowering.

Descriptions are precise, evocative: places (streets, shops, mansions, lab huts...) are conjured with a real sense of space and their reality (furnishings, light, smell) as are dresses and food! Characters well drawn and their speech and dialogue makes them truly individual. Back stories are just suggested intelligently - there is no superfluous, boring material. This is an exciting look at the city of Edinburgh at a moment of change and modernisation through a series of characters and events which make this a very fine, intelligent and fun entertainment. Totally recommend it.

Much thanks to Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this APC.

This is an absolute gem of a novel. I haven’t read any Sara Sheridan books before and I must admit I didn’t know what to expect. Set in 1820’s Edinburgh against the background of the King’s visit and a rare plant in the Botanic Gardens which will flower only once. With a rich cast of characters the strains of the book are skilfully woven together. I’m not a gardening lover at all but the botanical descriptions were captivating. I absolutely loved it.

This is one of the best historical novels I have read, and being a woman who lives in Edinburgh and who used to work for the Botanics, this was one I was likely to judge harshly knowing a lot of the history of the Garden’s move to Inverleith.

But Sara Sheridan’s latest novel is everything I love about Elizabeth Gilbert’s The Signature of All Things, with a bit of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It wraps together the lives of two women who otherwise would find themselves destitute in the man’s world of 1820s Georgian Edinburgh, but who find their own way to make their way in the world - and to make best friends with the other.

Light, thoughtful, clever, romantic, with a dash of botany. One I will be buying for everyone I know who l loves books centering women, plants and Edinburgh.

I really enjoyed this historical Edinburgh-based novel, more so because I look over from Fife every day and am familiar with the areas that Sara writes about. I learned so many new facts from this novel - I had no idea that the Botanic Garden had been moved from Leith Walk to it’s present setting in the New Town at Inverleith and the description of how this was achieved was riveting. Sara Sheridan has written a heart warming tale of love, intrigue and botany with strong women at its centre - a real pick-me-up to boost your mood in challenging times.

Set in 1822's Edinburgh, this novel has a lush backdrop that is utilised, with the Botaical Gardwns playing a significant role in the story. One plant in particular plays an even bigger role, connecting the characters of the book.
Unfortunately, there were too many characters perspectives, and the balance between each left all feeling underdeveloped, and some whose plots were left in a way which felt abrupt. There did not feel as if much time was spent developing the relationships between characters, in particular with Elizabeth and Belle, who had little page time together. There was more telling that they were good friends than showing, as much of this development was left out, leading to a rather underwhelming conflict later on.
Belle herself was an interesting character, one with more substance, and was an enjoyable plot thread to follow.
Elizabeth felt quite bland, and whilst she did have some development throughout the novel, it felt like it was sacrificed somewhat for plot.
The plot was intriguing, although not each plotline paid off in a satisfying way, with some characters feeling forgotten about, or the ending of them feeling rushed. This is likely due to lack of time as there were many plotlines to wrap up.
At moments, there felt as if there were unnecessary tangents that added little to the story and distracted from the other events taking place at that moment.
That being said, the relationship between Elizabeth and Clementina was well established and well written.
Content warning for book: contains mentions of past domestic abuse, sexual assault, and rape

Marvellous
A heart-felt story and one based on true fact.
Fascinating
Brings a bygone world back to life
Exquisite writing
Highly recommended

It's the summer of 1822 in Edinburgh and King George IV might come for a visit in late summer. His right hand man, Johann is already there to oversee the possible programme of events which might take place. Also arriving is newly widowed Elizabeth Rocheid who has been invited to stay with her late husband's ageing Aunt Clementina at her home in Inverleith which borders the new Botanical Garden.

Much excitement is to be had with the move of the trees from the former gardens at Leith as well as the fact that the century plant - an Agave Americana is set to flower. The seeds have been promised to many and Head Gardener, Mr McNab is getting anxious. Elizabeth introduces herself and having drawn for Kew offers her services. She's over the moon about her new start and exciting adventures in Edinburgh.

Belle Brodie, is a beautiful young woman in charge of her own life, who apart from being a courtesan, has a keen interest in botany and creates and formulates perfumes and potions with the help of a promising young lad, Edzel, whom she's helping to get into medical school. She's also extremely interested in the blooms from the plant. I totally fell in love with fiery and determined Belle who knows exactly what she wants.

Belle and Elizabeth meet and form a firm friendship which has its good and bad times. Belle invites Elizabeth on a trip to Ratho (one which takes 2hrs there and back!) Blind Mhairi MacDonald also assists Belle with her big life changing project as she's got an uncanny sense of smell. I also liked how Elizabeth grows into her own as the story progresses.

It's a beautiful read with characters I grew to love, historical content I found interesting and I loved the real life characters whose lives are interwoven into the story. I absolutely loved this richly drawn and meticulously researched story and highly recommend it.