I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The storyline is excellent and compelling. I highly recommend it!

Quite a dark book and a fair amount about how war really does affect people. The decisions we make in a crisis just like others will have repercussions. I found it a bit slow going at first. I was drawn to the location (Suffolk) but that didn't really play a part. The effects that war has on mental health are writ large and there are no real answers.
Having read this and other books makes me wonder if one of the purposes of fiction is to give a voice to those who were part of a crowd and whose voice is drowned out by the heroic deeds of a few others. That's not to negate the heroes whose stories are uplifting and instructive as well as a positive to come from such a negative experience. Sometimes though, ordinary regular people who just did their job, like so many others need to be given an outlet for their story and to a certain extent I feel that this is what is happening here. War affects each and every person and they are named here and this is their story

A book very important to read and to remember just how much was given by so many so that we can enjoy the freedom with which we live today. We must never forget the scars borne by all those brave men, women and children.

This is a tricky book to review so I’m going to split it into two halves.

This is a beautifully written and heartbreaking story which becomes even more tragic and dark towards the end. This is a heavy read with so much relentless trauma and so many damaged and unhappy people. It is obviously well-researched and realistic, an important story and very thought-provoking and philosophical. I really felt for Alice, respected Dr Downes and pitied the poor Rev Ivens so could relate to the characters. It’s hard to call a read like this enjoyable as it was so sad but it was engaging.

The Walled Garden as a part of the story was hugely lacking, the landscapes and nature, in general, are evocatively written but from the cover and blurb, I expected the garden to be a sanctuary and a character in itself. I didn’t see or feel the hope and healing of the garden, in fact the last 10-15% of the story is so neatly wrapped up as to being unrealistic and jarring with the tone of the rest of the book. I fear this book with its current title, cover and tagline will miss some of its intended audience and disappoint some who choose it based on those. It’s not a gentle and hopeful story, it’s bleak and traumatic and it deserved a more realistic ending fitting with the tone.

I would read more from this author in future knowing what to expect, but would be wary of books from this publisher without reading a sample chapter.

Beautifully written post war drama featuring families and how they get through the crucial years . Likeable characters and realistic events leading to differing outcomes for each family. Dealing with loss and how to move on.
Very engaging read.

I must admit that I'm not sure what I think of this book. Set in 1946 it shows the difficulties men had embracing peace when they returned from the war. They couldn't talk about the things they'd seen and done. In the book they're angry, depressed, cruel to their family and others and struggle to have any sort of relationship with their nearest and dearest. All very realistic.

Then everything changes and things start getting over the top the other way. By the time of the coronation in 1953 you'd think that their lives were idyllic.

I found the whole book quite depressing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own personal opinion.

The always wounds of war, long after.

Sarah Hardy’s exploration of two generations (and rippling onwards) damaged by the major conflagrations of the twentieth century is a good one.

Set pretty quickly after the ending of the second world war, when those damaged by their participation in its horrors, whether within the Armed Services or on the home front, are found now trying to pick up the pieces, and unable to share in the positive spin put on a new future.

She tackles, well, the challenges of the class system, in her village setting, where the Lord of the Manor, far from being wealthy, is actually quite impoverished, but, more pertinently, deeply damaged, both brutalised and brutal, by what he did, and had to do as a leader of men, and joining the work of the Resistance, in SOE, in France. Stephen, and his almost on the verge of breakdown wife Alice, are both suffering. Her desire to heal and help her man only increases his cruelty. Stephen is physically unscathed, mentally and emotionally toxic.

The village doctor is one of those who bears physical injuries, and lives in constant pain with his prosthetic leg. He is endlessly compassionate to the poor, passionately involved in the creation of the new National Health Service, but holds ‘privileged classes’ in the deepest contempt. Meanwhile, his wife, during the war an extraordinary nurse, who should have been a doctor herself, has been forced to retreat from the independence she had whilst the men were all away at war, and is now caretaker to her variously damaged children, by war’s effects during the Blitz, in London, and the uncomfortable atmosphere in the family home, caused by her bitter husband

Finally, there is the new vicar, a beautiful and compassionate soul, but one bearing endless guilt that he could not serve and sacrifice the way other men did, in the war. He had rheumatic fever, when young, and his prognosis is poor

I loved the depth and complexity of the central characters in this. Was held me back from the final star, was a certain pat-ness in the romance, love story aspect. I did not quite believe the trajectory of this, nor its resolutions. If not quite FULL Hollywood, it was still, far too sentimental.

Still Hardy is a fine writer, and I will be very interested to see where else she goes

I received this as an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley

A story set after the Second World War as men returned to their families from their service. I felt Sarah Hardy showed the difficulties faced by these men and their families was described in a very compassionate manner. I loved the story as it took a different line to that which I had expected. Lady Rayne was nothing like what the villagers expected her to be, whilst her husband was a very different man, to that who had gone to war. The Dr Downes was also hiding secrets from his family who found it difficult to understand. His wife was also back to being a housewife despite her position during the war years. The new Vicar went a long way towards reuniting these families in unexpected ways, and despite having his own problems.
I can highly recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction and family life.

A very thoughtful and compassionate exploration of the effects of war on the individual and their family and spouses. The healing powers of nature weaves through as does time and patience and love. Beautifully written, a lovely if sometimes dark book.

It is 1946, and Sir Stephen Rayne has returned home from war to his crumbling manor house in the village of Oakbourn in Suffolk. Burdened with secrets and tortured by the horrors he has seen whilst away fighting, he is a completely changed man. Traumatised, angry, bitter, and also guilty that he has survived, he is unable to face the future.

Meanwhile Alice, his wife, is struggling with the change in her husband, and the loss of their once loving relationship. He constantly lashes out at her, and refuses to engage with her, the estate, or the villagers, preferring instead to spend his time shut away in an attic bedroom.

It is left to Alice to find ways to salvage the collapsing house, the struggling estate, and beautiful but ruined walled garden, as well as save her fractured marriage. Tireless in her efforts, she is forced to find a new way to live, and to love.

This is a very moving debut novel that offers a different perspective on post-war life in Britain, showing that whilst the war was won, winning the peace was a totally different proposition. As soldiers returned damaged by what they had seen and by their experiences, their wives, families and communities were trying to cope with supporting men whom would today be diagnosed as having PTSD.

For the men returning, their physical injuries may be healing, but the mental scars have not. We see Stephen and the mental demons he is fighting, but there is also the village GP, who lost his leg in a prison camp and suffered trauma so deep that his hands constantly shake - he has to come to terms with the fact that he cannot return to his once brilliant career as a surgeon. He pours his frustrations into inverted snobbery, railing against social injustice and poverty, and shouting at his wife and children.

In addition to the mental and physical problems experienced by the returning soldiers and the dreadful difficulties faced by their families, Sarah Hardy paints a vivid portrayal of a community continuing to face everyday shortages and deprivations even though the war is over - rationing is still in place; supplies of food and heating are limited; clothing is well-worn, and patched. It is a make-do-and-mend society. But despite all of this, spirits remain surprisingly high in the village, and comfort is found in the traditional pre-war activities like decorating the church for Easter and the annual Cricket match against the next village.

The timeframe of the novel spans winter, spring and early summer, and there are beautiful descriptions of the natural world and the seasons providing a counterpoint to the human misery, with the burgeoning of the walled garden and the surrounding countryside reflecting the growing green shoots of hope springing up for the community.

The Walled Garden is a compelling, thoughtful story populated with well-drawn characters, and it movingly explores themes of loss, love and human resilience. I really enjoyed it and found it a highly engaging read.

I loved this.
It took a little time to get into it but the story exceeded expectations.
It’s a post war story looking at the lives of the characters after the war but instead of delight that the war is over, the book looks at the psychological impact and the impossibility of things going back to normal. The dreadful burdens carried by the survivors are unimaginable. It seems most likely that this was an ongoing struggle for many, including the misapprehensions of some who believed that other had a less dreadful time.
This stayed with me, after I put the book down.
Recommended

I enjoyed the storyline, how the war affected everyone differently, and how in its aftermath, everyone can be struggling with something.
A whole community of people, who each had a different war.
It had a good mix of those who fought, and those left behind.

I love historical fiction its my favourite genre.
I especialy loved the mental health theme throughout. I was so interested in the characters having PTSD from the war . It was good to get an insight into what life might have been like for them and how relationships were strained and times were hard. If the book stopped halfway through I would have loved it.
Heres where It was spoilt for me though. I was expecting a thought provoking interesting journey to finding a way forward. That purpose might be found again in an interesting way but instead it was just the typical time old ending…


spoiler alert
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I wish I had known that the story would have a pronatalist message of -have a baby it’ll give purpose in a time of grief and hardship itll fix everything- an ending where the main character tells her husband shes pregnant and it gives him purpose and gives everyone a happy ending. preachy lines about how it was what they needed.

In the childless community how are we supposed to feel reading yet another story that has a miserable couple seen as odd and failing at life that are then made happy by a baby? the book made it clear the characters couldnt have been ok and couldnt have had purpose without this child so what does that mean for the many people for who they either cant or dont want kinds?
I know im being harsh and some may like this storyline, but if you dont want critique from those that dont then perhaps you should be more clear in your blurb about what your books about so that you get the right audience:

If you like that then go for it. but if like me you find it preachy and outdated dont do it. i wish i didnt read this book.

It’s 1946 and the men of Oakbourne have returned from war – at least those that survived have – each bearing the physical and mental scars of six years of bloody battle. At Oakbourne Hall, Sir Stephen Rayne broods on his part in the conflict, unable to share the secret of the things he has seen and done with his patient but bewildered wife Alice. At the doctor’s home, Jane Downes tries to keep the peace between her husband Jonathan and their three children. He’s scarred and angered by his experiences as a prisoner of war, they’re still traumatised by the bombing of their home in the London Blitz. At the vicarage, gentle George Ivens offers what solace he can to his parishioners. But even he can’t heal the tortured minds of Sir Stephen and Dr Downes.
Will time, and the love of their wives, do their healing work?
This was a beautiful story of the strength and resilience of ordinary people who have had to face extraordinary circumstances. The reader empathises so much with all of them, but Alice is the ultimate heroine of the piece. She longs for the normality and contentment of the pre-war years, and tries to recreate them in the old walled garden that has been left to go to rack and ruin.
It’s a metaphor for so many ruined lives, and as she pulls out nettles with her bare hands, we’re reminded that healing and restoration can’t happen unless we face up to the pain.
Amongst all the sorrow are moments of joy, as George Ivens’ rich voice soars to the church’s vaulted ceiling, as he and Alice discover a shared love of music, as Dr Downe’s takes up his beloved chess again, as the annual village cricket match resumes.
This book may be about the aftermath of the cruelty mankind is capable of, but there is so much love in the story – family love, forbidden love, the love of the land everyone fought so hard for, that it uplifts, inspires and warms the reader’s heart with the reminder that goodness will always triumph over evil.

WW2 is over, VE Day has been celebrated, then the reality of the peace sets in for the characters in this novel, all of them dealing with the physical and/or emotional effects of all that they have lost or experienced during the conflict. Women who had longed for their men to return find them so dramatically changed that life is unbearable. The doctor who lost a leg and whose uncontrollable tremor makes him unable to advance his career looks to the future and longs for a just world. Stephen shuts himself away, his terrible secret locked inside.

Set in a small community where everybody is watching their neighbours, wondering and judging, this is a story of deep secrets, loss, deprivation. Each of the characters has a completely different experience of the war years and their despair, hope, resentment are on every page. Resentment that the people in the big house seem to still have everything when others have lost so much; resentment that some men have returned whilst other families have lost their sons/husbands/fathers..

Alice seeks solace in her garden where nature brings an element of hope by continuing unchanged, Alice delighting in skeins of geese and plants pushing through the earth, in strong contrast to the evil of war and its aftermath. Given the title of the book, I'd have liked to learn more about the restoration of the walled garden.

Stephen's story unfolds gradually. There is clearly something terrible he cannot reveal to anybody. I was slightly unconvinced that he unburdened himself of his terrible secret to the vicar, who then convinced him to confide in his wife, but of course without that the plot could not have reached its entirely appropriate conclusion, so I am happy to overlook that

There are many moving moments in this wonderful novel, but the finest has to be the revelation that Stephen's comrades in France and even the father of the girl who so tragically lost her life knew what he had done, accepted it and understood why. The strongest messages I took from this books were people's resilience and their compassion.

After reading the author's sources, I now feel inspired to try to get hold of some of the books which informed her own narrative and clearly contributed to its authenticity. She truly captures the spirit of the time in all its awfulness, in all its beauty.

The Walled Garden is set in Suffolk at the end of WW2, and follows the lives of Stephen and his wife Alice, Dr Downes and the vicar Revd Ivens

Each character has their own secrets.... Stephen arrived home over 6 months after the war had ended, and was no longer the poet or the calm romantic man he was before the war. Dr Downes was a POW, REVD Ivens arrived in Oakbourne from the East end of London.

Alice finds it hard, to keep the house from falling down around their ears, Stephen, has retreated to the attic and barely talks . Alice sells some of the family heirlooms to keep the house going. She also has a love of gardening and sets out to revive the walled garden .

At times I
At the beginning of the book it was a difficult read, but as you progress through the book it becomes a lot easier and you can visualise the torment each character goes through to sort out their issues.

1946 just after WW2 the master of the big house, Sir Steven, returns home along with others from his village. Unfortunately although a war hero he carries a heavy burden of what he saw and did during the war. He shuts himself away in the attic to suffer alone.
His wife is in despair. Her outlet is bringing back to life the Walled Garden in "The big house"
The secrets of the veterans are forever shut away until a new vicar is appointed. He manages to unlock their secrets and help them come back to life. However Lady Alice has the biggest secret.
I really enjoyed this book. Very thought provoking and emotional.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. A story set in wartime with a beautiful cover. The book explores relationships and love after returning from war. An enjoyable book to read and well written, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Incredibly beautiful cover! This is a post-war novel set in Suffolk about mental heath and restoration. I enjoyed the intrapersonal narrative but it was also a bit slow. However, I loved the link with nature and would recommend this as a historical fiction read.

I was excited to have an advanced copy of The Walled Garden; the book promised to be an insight into the after effects of the second world war; not just of those who were on the front line, but those who were left behind.

And the book delivered so much more. I found it tricky to get into at first; but it soon became apparent that this was for a reason. As soon as each of the characters stories started coming to light that I found I couldn't put the book down.

The mixture of decisions that had to be made, and the subsequent repercussions on the mindset of those that had to make them was insightful and elegantly done.

It's a dark book and at some points, it's difficult to read. But I enjoyed it and it carries a deep lesson that trauma can come from many different places.