Wild Words Newsletter
Get monthly recommendations on all the latest nature writing, heritage and conservation related reads available at Sherlock & Pages
Olivia Laing's 'The Garden Against Time', a Sunday Times No.1 bestseller, is a captivating and ambitious exploration of gardens and their timeless allure. As Laing embarks on the restoration of a walled garden in Suffolk, she unearths a fascinating journey through the concept of paradise and its horticultural manifestations.
With characteristic eloquence, Laing weaves together real and imagined landscapes, from Milton's literary Eden to war-torn Italian sanctuaries and controversial aristocratic pleasure grounds. She deftly examines the often-overlooked costs of creating earthly paradises, whilst also celebrating gardens as spaces of rebellion and communal aspiration.
The narrative traverses diverse terrain, from Derek Jarman's queer utopia on Dungeness beach to William Morris's vision of a shared Eden. Laing posits that gardens can be crucibles for new ways of living, potentially offering vital insights for our era of profound change.
This masterful work has garnered high praise from luminaries across the literary and horticultural worlds. Nigel Slater lauds it as 'wonderful', whilst Philip Hoare declares it 'what we need right now: paradise, regained'. Julia Bell goes further, crowning it 'the perfect book about gardens' for our generation.
Jilly Cooper promises readers will be 'enchanted', Jeremy Lee commends its 'magical writing', and artist Celia Paul attests to feeling 'doubly alive' after reading. Garden designer Jinny Blom found it 'quite literally unputdownable', while Mary Keen recommends it as 'a book for thinking gardeners everywhere'.
Book ISBN: | 9781529066708 |
Book Author: | Olivia Laing |
Book Format: | Paperback / softback |
Book Imprint: | Picador |
Book Publisher: | Pan Macmillan |
Book Dimensions: | 129 x 197 x 23 cm |
Book Publication Date: | 2025-03-06 |
Book Pagination: | 336 pages |
Book Weight: | 234g |
Sherlock & Pages is a little bookshop with a big heart. We are based in Frome, Somerset, England and curate lists of books in the areas we are passionate about – landscape, nature, history, and heritage. In short, the conservation of all we’ve inherited and all we are responsible to pass on. We aim to inspire and be inspired, to form a literary culture of care and passion about this precious planet we call home.
This is a shop where you might find something you haven’t seen before, and we like to think we’ve got something for everyone. We choose each of our books with care and for a reason. This is because our physical store is small but beautifully formed, holding only around 1200 titles at any one time. We try and recreate the feel of the shop wherever we are online, to reflect our niche categories and personality.
We have an active social media presence and aim to share our story with all our friends. The long-term goal is to build a hub for the books and writers we believe in. Who knows where our adventure will lead but by supporting Sherlock & Pages you’re helping us to add a further layer of magic to our little corner of the world. If you haven’t visited our physical store, one day you might just make a literary pilgrimage down to Somerset.
Our tagline is ‘Long Live the Hedgerows’ and our symbol a hibernating dormouse. If you want to support an independent with a unique character and which will share stories with you for years to come, then choose Sherlock & Pages. The world needs bookshops with soul, for they are ‘citadels of light.’
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Sherlock & Pages is a little bookshop with a big heart. We are based in Frome, Somerset, England and curate lists of books in the areas we are passionate about – landscape, nature, history, and heritage. In short, the conservation of all we’ve inherited and all we are responsible to pass on. We aim to inspire and be inspired, to form a literary culture of care and passion about this precious planet we call home.
This is a shop where you might find something you haven’t seen before, and we like to think we’ve got something for everyone. We choose each of our books with care and for a reason. This is because our physical store is small but beautifully formed, holding only around 1200 titles at any one time. We try and recreate the feel of the shop wherever we are online, to reflect our niche categories and personality.
We have an active social media presence and aim to share our story with all our friends. The long-term goal is to build a hub for the books and writers we believe in. Who knows where our adventure will lead but by supporting Sherlock & Pages you’re helping us to add a further layer of magic to our little corner of the world. If you haven’t visited our physical store, one day you might just make a literary pilgrimage down to Somerset.
Our tagline is ‘Long Live the Hedgerows’ and our symbol a hibernating dormouse. If you want to support an independent with a unique character and which will share stories with you for years to come, then choose Sherlock & Pages. The world needs bookshops with soul, for they are ‘citadels of light.’