Manilla Press is excited to offer reading groups 10 advanced proof copies of The Walled Garden, the captivating historical debut from Suffolk-based author Sarah Hardy. We’d especially like library groups to apply as we’d love to hear what you discuss after reading.
About The Walled Garden
A luminous debut novel about love, the trauma of war and the miracle of human resilience, for readers of Anna Hope, Sadie Jones and Elizabeth Jane Howard.
No one survives war unscathed. But even in the darkest days, seeds of hope can grow.
It is 1946 and in the village of Oakbourne the men are home from the war. Their bodies are healing but their psychological wounds run deep. Everyone is scarred – those who fought and those left behind.
Alice Rayne is married to Stephen, heir to crumbling Oakbourne Hall. Once a sweet, gentle man, he has returned a bitter and angry stranger, destroyed by what he has seen and done, tormented by secrets Alice can only guess at.
Lonely and increasingly afraid of the man her husband has become, Alice must try to pick up the pieces of her marriage and save Oakbourne Hall from total collapse. She begins with the walled garden and, as it starts to bear fruit, she finds herself drawn into a new, forbidden love.
Set in the Suffolk countryside as it moves from winter to spring, The Walled Garden is a captivating love story and a timeless, moving exploration of trauma and the miracle of human resilience.
How to get involved
To be in with a chance of winning copies to read and review, as well as bookmarks, please apply by 27 February. Please note we are only looking for groups who can commit to sending reviews back to us or sharing a link to an online review.
If successful, each of your members will be expected to share a review within six weeks of receiving the books. Only pitch if you can commit to this.
