The Walled Garden: A Novel

Written by Robin Farrar Maass

Narrated by Elizabeth Klett

American grad student Lucy Silver arrives in England hoping to solve a longstanding literary mystery, write her dissertation, and finish her graduate studies in a blaze of academic glory. But as Lucy starts to piece together the correspondence between her late grandmother and Elizabeth Blackspear, the famous poet and garden writer who’s the subject of Lucy’s dissertation, she discovers puzzling coded references in the letters—and when an elderly English aristocrat with a secret connection to Elizabeth offers Lucy access to a neglected walled garden on his estate, the mystery deepens. As spring turns to summer in Bolton Lacey, Lucy finds herself fighting the Blackspear Gardens’ director’s attempt to deny her access to vital documents in the archives . . . and trying not to fall in love with an attractive Scottish contractor.
In the midst of this turmoil, she stumbles upon an illicit plot to turn the historic gardens into a theme park, and becomes determined to stop it. As she races against time to save the gardens, Lucy’s search for the truth about Elizabeth’s life leads her to a French convent where she uncovers explosive evidence that will change her life and the lives of everyone around her, ultimately revealing a home—and an inheritance—more incredible than anything she could ever have imagined.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Spotify Audiobooks
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781667069968

Robin Farrar Maass

Robin Farrar Maass is a lifelong reader and writer who fell in love with England when she was twenty-two. She enjoys tending her messy wants-to-be-English garden, painting watercolors, and traveling. She lives in Redmond, Washington, with her husband and two highly opinionated Siamese cats. The Walled Garden is her first novel, and she’s already at work on her next novel set in England.

Reviews for The Walled Garden

[Jenni Hoover · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The description of this book sounded like I would really enjoy it. I have a gazillion to choose from, and I picked this one because it sounded perfect for me. However, my ears cannot take the shrillness of the narrator voice. It’s almost a little nasally. It is not cozy and smooth and warm and delicious. That’s what this book needs not a shrill, screaming banshee of a nasal thing. I would’ve loved Imogen Church to narrate this book, etc..

[M · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story is delightful and I recommend it.
I love the use of flowers and mystery!
In all, this story exudes that integrity is still important, and that is why I was saddend me that the author felt they needed to insert the F word, uncouth. The readers' mastery of different dialects is spectacular.