I absolutely loved The Fair Botanists. Set in 19th century Edinburgh when the New Town is being built, the city is preparing for a Royal visit from King George IV, and botanists are getting excited about the imminent flowering of the Agave Americana. This plant is known as the century plant and flowers only once every few decades. It's much sought after by many for varied reasons and many of the characters in this book have reason to want to get a hold of it's valuable flowers and seeds.

Sara Sheridan is passionate about writing women back into history and commemorating their achievements. So it's hardly surprising that she creates fantastic female characters in this book, from courtesan Belle Brodie who is passionate about the use of plants in perfumery (or perhaps I should say potions), to recently widowed botanical artist Elizabeth Rocheid relying on the kindness of her late husband's relatives, to blind Mhairi MacDonald who works for an Edinburgh whisky distiller. Belle was my favourite and I admired her determination to live life on her own terms regardless of what anyone else thought. Despite being the great grand-daughter of a duke, her circumstances meant that her life was far from that of nobility and, particularly as a woman, her life choices were limited. I enjoyed the mix of fictional characters alongside many real and notable Edinburgh citizens of the time.

I absolutely loved the 19th Century Edinburgh setting which is brought vividly to life by Sara Sheridan's vibrant descriptive writing. It's an Edinburgh which is recognisable to me and yet a growing Edinburgh with so many landmarks not yet part of the cityscape. Princes Street Gardens are still being developed from the recently drained Nor Loch, the National Monument on Calton Hill is in the planning stage and the Botanic Garden is completing its move from its original site in Leith Walk to its current location at Inverleith. I was really interested to learn that Constitution Street in Leith was built as a route to town which would bypass Leith Kirkgate as it was considered too dirty and beyond cleaning!

In my opinion, The Fair Botanists is Sara Sheridan's finest novel to date. It's a book that's clearly well researched and is so richly detailed. If you are a fan of historical fiction then don't miss this one. It's a beautifully written historical adventure, with feisty and memorable characters, secrets, a dash of romance, plenty drama and is such a satisfying read.

Lots of colourful characters here who each had their own secrets, flaws and things that had to be kept private,

I'm not into gardening but the way in which the botany elements were described really came to life and became vivid. Would say if this is or isn't your passion you'd still enjoy the book.

Unusual take on this time period, and slightly unusual writing style. But could still imagine the Austen style gossips, and balls etc.

Liked the Scottish setting. Liked even more the ending (no spoilers here) where lots of things pieced together like a witty jigsaw puzzle.

Belle is a gorgeous character and challenging this stereotype for me was good.

Possibly a bit slow starting for me, but definitely built up to a great ending.

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!