Alice lives at Oakbourne Hall, once the happily married wife of Stephen, who sadly like many were damaged by the second world war. Once a poet Stephen is now withdrawn and hostile to Alice and everyone around him.

Life in the village of Oakbourne is much changed and scared by the war, and the new Reverend George Ivens is discovering this first hand. George is from the city and is not used to country life but still is able to see how the war has affected these people as it had in London.

This is a really beautifully written book about a really difficult time after war. Many men did not return from fighting and the ones that have are much changed. The women have also changed as they had to adapt in the absence of their husbands. Alice uses her garden as a solace and space to escape the stranger that she is now married to.

Dr Downes a surgeon is now the village doctor due to the war and his experiences and finds a companion in George. I enjoyed reading the different perspectives in the book as it was very enlightening to read both sides of the story. I also enjoyed the class aspects of the book within the village, which felt more prevalent amongst the men.

A emotional, thought provoking historical fiction novel in which I genuinely cared about the characters and their fate.

5 stars *****

A perfect and memorable novel I have not read many other novels looking at the after effects of world war 2 / this novel does this so sensitively by telling the stories of a group of people from a small English village as they come to terms with their war experiences
Life of course does have to go on and these traumatised people and their families all have to find a way to do so .I loved the analogy of the woman bringing back ti life an abandoned walled garden at the same time that her marriage falters .
The author describes her characters perfectly they are real people with all the faults and weaknesses I was very quickly invested in the book and wanted to know what happened next , the book is deeply moving in places I found it an emotional read
A novel with this subject could end up being a very traumatic read but instead I found that it was a generally optimistic uplifting read , I shall remember these characters and their stories for a Lon time
I read an early copy on Netgalley uk the book is published in the uk by on. 19th March 2023 by Bonnier books uk manila press
This review will appear on Goopdreads , Netgalley uk and on my book blog bionicsarahsbooks.wordpress.com

In The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy we meet Lady Alice and Sir Stephen Rayne. Stephen has returned from WWII not the man he used to be, now full of anger and tortured by the things he had to do whilst in France helping the French resistance fight the Germans. He comes home to a crumbling manor house and Alice a wife who is struggling to maintain the house and understand the changed man she loved and the burdens he carries. The village sees the return of the local GP someone else changed by the horror of war with his own battles on social injustice, constantly fighting with his frustrated wife and children. Inevitably Stephen and the GP clash. Add in the mix the new clergyman George whose health prevented him joining up who carries his own guilt about not being able to fight and his possible premature death due to ill health but who falls in love with Alice and you have a pot boiler of emotions. Alice channels her frustration and feelings into rebuilding the walled garden and trying to help her husband who does not want to stay married to her anymore whilst also fighting her attraction to the local vicar.

The story explores the themes of loss, love and monumental change weaving through the village in the immediate aftermath of war. The descriptions of the changing seasons and village life are well described and you are thoroughly engaged with the characters.

I found it slow to start but once it got going I really enjoyed it. This debut novel is realistic of the time portrayed and the toll war can take not just the physical and mental health of the soldiers returning but on those that were left behind to get on with life as best they could in a time of immense hardship.

A good first novel which was an emotional read.

It’s 1946 and the men have returned home from the war to their small village, Oakbourne. Quickly the women realise that the husbands they knew before the war were now different men due to trauma, ptsd and attempting to refit into post war Britain.
Alice longs for her husbands attention but it is never received. They live together in Oakbourne Hall, however their lives rarely intercept. With locals gossiping about their relationship, she seeks comfort and attention from their new priest. Will she act on her forbidden love?
I really wanted to like this book. The cover alone was beautiful and I have to admit I expected more. I felt disconnected from the book and I couldn’t warm to any of the characters.

In the aftermath of World War II, Alice and Stephen are living in the "big house" in a small village that is doing its best trying to adjust as people attempt to find some form of normality following such brutality. Stephen has returned from the war a completely changed man - cold, distant, secretive and with seemingly sudden outbursts of violence and anger. Alice longs for the man she married but Stephen cannot talk about the horrors of war. Taking refuge in the calm and comfort of nature, can Alice find a way to help her husband or is their relationship beyond repair?

Sarah Hardy's recurring exploration of "what now?" after the trauma and shock of the war is portrayed beautifully and sensitively through the characters of Alice and Stephen and their neighbours.

A country still reeling with the devastation of two incredibly destructive wars so close in time to one another is expressed in the trauma of the men returning to their homes, the repression of the women who took it upon themselves to work while the men fought and then the guilt and anger that followed the conclusion of the war.

It is a dark portrayal of how a generation were often expected to just "get on with it" as they suffered and tucked away their personal horrors and I feel that Hardy captures this turmoil and grief with great care in the courageous narration of Stephen along with the balance of women feeling sidelined after their sudden independence in the strong tale of Mrs Downe.

A deeply evocative novel, I often felt very emotional reading it as I considered my own dear family who served during the war years. For this, I feel it is an important novel and one that ought not to be missed.

A post war look at the aftermath of war and the tragic circumstances that it creates. I didn't love the characters and felt the story was diluted between too many characters. An incredibly sad story that just didn't resonate with me.

A wonderful rich moving story about the lives of people both in the UK & Overseas during the Second World War and the mental & physical effects endured . It is about the building of bridges in relationships & communities , of how our Landscapes & Gardens can help heal deep wounds again both physical & mental. You want at times to shout at the characters & also to embrace them . I highly recommend this book. #NetGalley, #Goodreads, #Amazon.co.uk, #FB, #Instagram,#<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>.

Described as a beguiling, beautifully written novel about the aftermath of war and the miracle of human resilience - this perfectly sums up my experience of reading The Walled Garden.

Alice has longed for her gentle husband Stephen to return from the war. But he has returned a broken and bitter man, seeing only evil in the world.

Jane loved working as a medic in the war, but now that her doctor husband Jonathan has returned she is resentful that her only choices are returning to the drudgery of being a homemaker. And she seems to spent her time trying to appease her husband and children from the tensions between them. Jonathan has returned angry and injured.

Alice becomes increasingly lonely and finds a friend in George Ivens, the new vicar. This friendship restores her, but soon their feelings grow more complex.

As we learn more about the horrors of Stephen's war experience and his shame, we feel his heartbreak and trauma.

Is it too late for Alice and Stephen to find their way back to one another? Will Jane be honest about her resentment?

There is a great deal of sadness, but also a wonderfully heart-warming and cathartic conclusion.

This was a fabtastic book. Love to read around World War 2 era and the highs and lows. The relationships and story was really well written and could have read more and more, so really give this a thumbs up.

This post WW11 book shows how the war changed people who went or had to go to the war, many of whom were at the front line. War changes everything from the destruction of the homeland to the health and mental state of people. This book set in Suffolk tells the story, it is very interesting and shows us how things happened. Worth 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I was firstly drawn ro this book by the gorgeous cover. Who wouldn’t want to read a book that had such a fabulous cover. This is a book of historical fiction dealing with the aftermath of WW2 and especially the after effects on men who have returned from war and how they are coping, many of them returning to their families after being through such a horrific time are maimed both physically and mentally. I found this book quite different to what I’ve read in the past about the aftermath of the Second World War, usually the books I’ve read concentrate more on how women and children are coping. So this was a different read for me and it really struck a chord with me at times how many men struggled with life after war. Whilst this is a slow burn of a read the writing is wonderful and so descriptive that it’s very easy to close your eyes and visualise all that’s happening as if you’re actually there. A very powerful and at times sad read which I highly recommend.

I liked the premise of this book. The post-WWII time period interests me, especially the way the romanticism is stripped away. The themes of PTSD and how marriages could survive such a disparity in the individual's experiences were interesting to explore.
However, sadly this book did not deliver. The characters were badly drawn and did not feel believable. The pacing felt off where we were tripping through emotional and significant episodes too quickly. Also, the diatribes were too numerous and I felt like I was being bashed over the head by social and political issues of the time without any subtlety or nuance.

I would read further work by Hardy as I feel her creativity deserves attention, but this debut needed more editorial guidance towards a deeper historical novel

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

What a beautiful book, despite the topic dealing with the aftermath of war and how it affects different people.
The story is mostly about Lady Alice Rayne, her husband Stephen and Rev Ivens. Lord Rayne has returne£ from France very withdrawn and not participating in life, does not seem interested in his wife and the Estate which is now quite run down. Reverend Ivens is sent from London to recuperate in the clean fresh air of the countryside following poor health due to Rheumatic Fever.
The story is quite slow to start, introducing the characters around the main protagonists. But when it gets really going, I did not want to put the book down, you find out about Stephens activities in France and why he is now the way he is.
I loved the fact that it deals with issues, including mental health, that war can cause.
Definitely worth reading.

This was my first book by this author. I was immediately drawn to the book by the beautiful cover and the book’s description. Based after the war has finished, this story deals with the aftermath, particularly to the men returning from the war and the women who they are returning to.

The book begins well, slowly building the story of the main characters, Alice and Stephen. For me, the storyline took a little while to develop, but once it did, I became hooked into the book, particularly Alice and Stephen’s storylines. We’ve seen so many portrayals of war where the men returning are unable to talk about the horrors they’ve seen, but the author has done a wonderful job in showing us what it was like behind closed doors, not just for the men but for their whole families.

It is a dark and powerful read and is terribly sad at times throughout the book. It does though show us the resilience of people, especially through these war and post-war years. This was a well written storyline which showed the love, strength and courage of all the different characters and I was captivated by their stories. A beautiful, mesmerising read which I would recommend!

‘For some of us…peace is going to be as hard as war itself’

This is a novel about readjusting from life at war to peacetime, focusing on Sir Stephen Rayne who fought with the resistance in France and Dr Downes who spent the war in a German POW camp. Both men struggle with their return to life back in their Suffolk village and take out their anger on their wives. Unfortunately, I found parts of the novel a bit cliched and clunky as characters railed against the class system, contemplated an affair and were able to neatly resolve issues by the end of the book.

I adored this book and would give it more stars if I could. This is a beautifully-written illustration of life just after the Second World War, where the residents of a small village are all trying to come to terms with their new lives. The various characters all have to deal with their own (and sometimes their husbands') traumas and problems, hampered by an unwillingness and inability to communicate things which can't easily be said. I loved the subtle exploration of the characters, and the very real portrayal of a time of deprivation and hardship. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy is filled with well-drawn and likeable characters who are trying to make sense of the world in the aftermath of World War II and all its traumas; physical, psychological and emotional. Far from being depressing, it's an enjoyable and ultimately uplifting read about hope, love and resilience, and the possibility of rebuilding after even the most devastating of experiences. An impressive debut. Highly recommended.

A beautiful book and an interesting story I’ve read many books that take place during WW2 but none that show the ongoing impact once the soldiers came home with everyone having to rebuild and the strain everyone was under.
I’ve already recommended to several friends!

The Walled Garden by Sarah Hardy

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC ebook for an unbiased review.

As someone whose grandfather's were both affected by WW2, and the way it affected the family as a whole, meant this story was intriguing to me. Did it work?
Yes.
My real negatives - minor as they were, and why I knock a star off my rating - was it was a little slow to start. I also felt that it was all a bit clichéd on who the characters were. The vicar, a doctor, the dutiful wife as Lady of the Manor. I personally felt it would've been better to give us characters who tend not to fall into this trap. It isn't to say they were without merit, I just wish more ordinary voices were what brought the story to us.

However, despite this, once it found its stride, I really found myself taken in by the story overall. In fact, in respect of the effects war had, it was certainly something I know reflected both my maternal and paternal family, for different reasons. My paternal grandfather was a warrant officer who was tasked with helping those at Bergen-Belsen, and he came back from the war and had a breakdown as a result of his experience. Thankfully, he was able to recover but the mental scars ran deep. For both men. That spilled over into family life in ways a lot of people today probably have no tangible understanding of. This book brought some of that to the forefront.

Ultimately the book is about resilience, despite the horror. Despite what the families and community went through. How it was all rebuilt, and even if it was different, it isn't necessarily worse.

I'm happy to give this 4/5 stars. One book that will join my collection.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

To be honest I struggled with this book and it was one that, rarely for me, I nearly gave up on on several occasions.

I have no idea why it was entitled ‘The Walled Garden’ as this was a very insignificant feature of the book.
I suppose in a way it was a metaphor for the fact that a garden could be made good as could possibly the minds of those damaged by war.

It was so slow for the first two thirds then raced to a very neat conclusion which seemed against the entire way in which the first part had been written.
It was so morose and ponderous. The emotions of the main make characters one damaged by a life-threatening illness and the others by the sights and scenes they had seen in WW2 overtook what could have been a much more enlightening read.
I am a child of the late fifties so not old enough to have experienced it but old enough to realise that War will have damaged those that were sent to serve and follow orders.
I also understand that many found it hard to talk of what they had seen and done - in fact some of my own father’s National Service was only talked about when he developed dementia and went back in his own memories.

The descriptions of the mental effects I suppose were well written but this was interspersed with those of the surrounding countryside - I suppose it was a book of differing types of prose but this did not make for an easy (I know the subject matter was never going to be easy) or captivating read.

I did stick with it to the end but was again disappointed with this, the epilogue in my view should have had a much larger part in how and why the events described happened. In fact I feel the book would have been far more readable. I wanted to know how and why these events happened but it was all wrapped up in a very small chapter.

Even the affair aspect stretched credibility in my mind. But to say more would provide spoilers so I will keep quiet.

Sadly this debut novel would not encourage me to seek more by this author but thank you for introducing me to something new.