“A beautiful book - a true treat and gift. Todd gives us an allusive dialogue of the living in vivid conversation with the illustrious dead. The voices of her learned, witty, aging twenty-first-century characters—like present-day Mrs. Dalloways going about their business in provocative daily routines—bring new life to the great authors of the past. This is a wonderful, moving novel of playful experimentation, gorgeous image, and brilliantly irreverent juxtaposition.” Devoney Looser, Foundation Professor of English, Arizona State, and author of The Making of Jane Austen.
“Dazzlingly inventive, fabulously enjoyable” Sandi Toksvig.
Washington Post
"A charming new novel about friendship and the literary life."
"In this delightful novel, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Elizabeth Bishop, Dr. Samuel Johnson and Lord Byron all make cameos, along with, of course, Jane Austen .... what great company these characters and the many writers who inhabit this novel make. It's as if we readers are taking a trip to Cambridge, Wales and Venice, too, and encounter in the local pubs a few witty, quirky locals who just happen to be literary scholars. They regale us with their favorite lines from poems while they share a glass of wine or a pint of ale, as if we are all friends just enjoying each other's company in a summer that — in our imagination anyway — can go on as long as we'd like."
Booklist
"Todd's charming, quirky, thoughtful, challenging, and encouraging tale includes engaging photos and illustrations that enhance the story, adding up to an unusual and intriguing literary romp."
"Fran and Annie have been friends for decades, from their time teaching in higher education and experiencing motherhood to Annie's current visit to Fran's remote retirement cottage in South Norfolk, England. While contemplating the next phase of their friendship, Fran consults with Jane Austen, a ghostly presence in her life. A group of earthly friends is loosely formed, and they embark on a journey tracing the footsteps of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, although the growth of their friendships may be the most rewarding discovery they make. Literary critic, biographer, and novelist Todd provides a variety of reading experiences, ranging from reflections on gender inequities of the past and present to multiple viewpoints on the prospect of aging, investigating the consequences of Shelley's dramatic life choices, considering the role of women in Austen's world, and navigating the difficulties involved in following your own path while trying to fulfill the expectations of friends, family, and society. Todd's charming, quirky, thoughtful, challenging, and encouraging tale includes engaging photos and illustrations that enhance the story, adding up to an unusual and intriguing literary romp."
Foreword Magazine
"With consuming literary passion, Janet Todd's complex novel combines the past and the present together with the living and the dead."
"Fran is a widow who spent her life immersed in teaching, reading, and gardening. Her retirement (and her reluctant glances at herself in mirrors) reminds her that she is getting on in years. The thought of making a major life change while there's still time plays at the edge of her mind.
"Somewhat obsessed with Siberian recluse Agafia Lykova, who cracked nuts with her teeth while alone on the tundra, reclusive Fran thinks, 'I may have to learn to live with people before it's too late.' But Fran is not alone: the ghost of Jane Austen haunts her, making unsolicited comments on her thoughts, beliefs, and choices. Though sometimes resentful of Austen muttering in her ear, Fran accepts that her presence "makes the world a little less cold.
"Then Fran bonds with two other women over their mutual love of literature: Annie, a longtime English friend, and Rachel, an American writer. Under the influence of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley's dreams of a utopian community, the three contemplate creating a home together--a hedge against a lonely old age. Putting their musings aside, the women find a place together, only to have to serve time in lockdown there as a "family," with the ghosts of Jane Austen and Shelley happy to inhabit their garden.
"Mirrors play an important role in the tale: reflecting the passage of time, highlighting the difference between outer appearances and secret inner lives, and forcing confrontations with mortality. Hints of the homoerotic arise and are tantalizing.
Jane Austen and Shelley in the Garden layers emotions within the intellectual discourses of a literary community, thinning the veil between what's real and imagined."
The Herald
"(Examining) friendship, feminism and finding one’s way through life, this novel cultivates a gentle, autumnal mood."
PRAISE FROM AUTHORS AND BOOKSELLERS FOR JANET TODD’S RECENT WRITING
“Todd has a good ear for tone and a deep understanding” Emma Donoghue
“Janet Todd’s interweaving of life and literature is a good book - frank, wry and unexpectedly heartening” Hilary Mantel
“A haunting, a gothic novel with a modern consciousness” Philippa Gregory
“A quirky, darkly mischievous novel about love, obsession and the burden of charisma, played out against the backdrop of Venice’s watery, decadent glory” Sarah Dunant
“A mesmerizing story of love and obsession: dark and utterly compelling." Natasha Solomons
"Intriguing and entertaining; clever, beguiling." Salley Vickers
“A stunningly good, tight, intelligent truthful book and one of the most touching love letters to literature I have ever read. Ah, so that’s why we write, I thought” Maggie Gee
“Beautifully written, viscerally honest, horribly funny” Miriam Margolyes
“A real knack for language with some jaw-droppingly luscious dialogue. I can see the author’s pedigree in the story, style, and substance of the book. It seems like a wonderful sleeper: think Elegance of the Hedgehog.”
Geoffrey Jennings, Rainy Day Books
