Product Description

The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful and enchanting gardens in the Lake Como area of Italy. For Lucy, the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Lake Como is where her father lives and the last time she saw him was when she was just a teenager. Recently married Helen and her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home, Helen throws herself into caring for the garden that was the pride and joy of its previous owner. But Helen needs help - and friends - and so decides to take the plunge and join the local Garden Club. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening. Widowed for five years, his life revolves around work and humouring Mac, his curmudgeonly elderly uncle who lives with him, and who has expressed a desire to go on the Gardens of Delight tour. But only if Conrad will accompany him. Reluctantly, Conrad agrees. 'Anything for a peaceful life,' he concedes. But a peaceful life is the last thing any of them are in for...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12626 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

GOOD BOOK GUIDE, 1 Mar
"A skilful writer possessed of great sympathy and humour.. this moving tale will not disappoint."

Review
"Erica James has established herself as one of the doyennes of romantic fiction." (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 15 October )

"Erica James' speciality is showing what follows when extraordinary things happen to ordinary people and this latest novel is no exception. James is a skilful writer possessing great sympathy and humour and this moving tale will not disappoint." (GOOD BOOK GUIDE, 1 November )

About the Author
Erica James grew up in Hampshire and has since lived in Oxford, Yorkshire and Belgium. She now lives in Cheshire with her two sons. All of Erica's recent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers.

Customer Reviews

For me, this is like comfort food
A good book should be relaxing, escapist, maybe instruct the reader in some way, or inspire them. The characters should be well-drawn and believable, there should be a strong sense of place, it should move along well, with dialogue that doesn't jar.
Well, all this and more can be found in the pages of the latest by Erica James, 'Gardens of Delight'.

'Gardens of Delight' is a holiday, a tour of some of Italy's finest gardens in the Lake Como area, and the descriptions of the gardens, the views across the Lake, brought it to life in mind pictures for me, thanks to Ms James descriptive powers and use of language.

And who goes on this holiday? Well, it's a group of characters, members of a village Gardening Club, a mix of both sexes and a wide age range. There is the poor little rich girl Savannah, typical moody teenager that she is, loud-mouthed and often foul of temper, but equally capable of getting her own way by being soft and gentle, just like her Daddy thinks she is all the time. And at the other end of the age scale is Mac, a genial old gent with a secret he's kept most of his adult life, who can also be a bit of a grouch, but lovable too. Genuinely lovable that is, not play acting. In between there's Helen, the poor woman who is Savannah's step-mother, for whom the trip brings home a few home truths; Lucy who has an ulterior motive for going on the trip to Italy but isn't sure she's ready to face this particular demon; and there's Conrad and Orlando, one in love with Lucy and one in love with Helen.

Interwoven throughout the story are relationships that are tested to the limit on this trip, as well as past grievances faced up to and aired, doubts also. Some of the relationships founder, while new ones are forged.

There is a strong romantic thread running through this story, a big novel filled with strong and totally believable characters, and whilst the storylines may not be original, they move along well, and for me, this was a page turner.

Erica James never fails to please me with her books, which are like old friends... good company; a bowl of Heinz tomato soup on a cold day ... comforting. They relax me, inspire me to try harder with my own writing, and in this case, reinforced my intention to learn Italian!

LOVED IT TIL THE END!
Words can not say how important it is to have a book to come home to after a long, tough day.....this book is wonderful. It offers the reader warmth with its eccentric characters and a wonderful escape to the beautiful Italian Lakes. I thoroughly recommend this to everyone.

5 stars as usual for Erica James! :-)
Another novel that makes you want to put everything else on hold just to read it!

I love the fact with Erica James books that you will always find a character who you can most relate with and this book was no different.

I was slightly hesitant before reading it as I am deffinatly not a green fingers kind of girl and do not know the first thing about gardening. But as usual with Erica this book was beautifully written and most of the time I was desperate to visit some of the gardens myself!

I thoroughly enjoyed every character and the close relationships they shared. Once again Erica has placed a group of very different people together through a shared love and allowed us to see into their lives... and enjoy every page!