The Botanist’s Daughter

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The voyage from Cornwall to Chile is hazardous, but even more danger awaits Elizabeth when she arrives at her destination. Damien Chegwidden, a ruthless English plant-hunter Elizabeth’s father had warned her about, is on the hunt for the Devil’s Trumpet too, and if the dangerous plant falls into his hands, who knows what will happen? Can Elizabeth find the plant before Chegwidden does? What other surprises await her in this strange new land? Kayte Nunn is a former book and magazine editor with over two decades of publishing industry experience, and is the author of two contemporary novels, Rose’s Vintage and Angel’s Share. The Botanist’s Daughter is Kayte’s first novel of transporting historical fiction, and stems in part from her love of flowers and all things botanical. I have just finished the major edits for my next book, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant. A marine scientist is sent to a remote British island where she discovers a cache of unsent love letters, written in the 1950s, in an old suitcase. Sets out to discover who they belong to and why they were never sent.

Here in this garden was the proof: while some lives ended, the rest of the world marched relentlessly on.’ I enjoyed both – and writing with a slightly different voice for each to help give the flavour of the time was a lot of fun. I do have to confess a soft spot for Anna – I like her quiet brand of courage.

I wish to thank Hachette Australia for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.

Discovery. Desire. Deception. A wondrously imagined tale of two female botanists, separated by more than a century, in a race to discover a life-saving flower, from the author of the bestselling The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant The best part of a year, but I was working as a freelance editor for some of that time, and finishing edits on my second book, so it was a little bit piecemeal.The Botanist’s Daughter signals quite the turning point for the author of this fascinating historical fiction, crossed with dual narrative tale. It is Kayte Nunn’s first venture into the world of historical fiction. It gives me great pleasure to see Kayte Nunn, an author I have been a fan of since her debut novel, take flight and soar with a new genre. The Botanist’s Daughter is a victory piece for Nunn and it has secured a spot in my most treasured reads of 2018. Anna is a landscape gardener in Sydney, Australia who has just inherited her deceased grandmother’s house. A box is found during renovations containing mysterious objects from the 19 th century. How it came to be there and what the link is to her grandmother sets Anna on a journey across the globe to Cornwall in England. I really enjoyed this novel and it was generally an overall hit at this month’s Book Club. There were some people who really loved this book, myself included, and some who it just wasn’t for but that’s okay! I think a lot of this comes down to what you go into it expecting. Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of The Botanist’s Daughter for review. I was working as a freelance journalist, and so was able to cut down on my freelance editing and writing as the fiction took up more of my time.

As the stories unfold, Anna moves ever closer to solving the mystery of the diary and artworks, uncovering links to her own family's history. Can you tell us a bit about your writing process? Do you have a strict schedule or write when inspiration strikes? This historical fiction and dual narrative novel is both engaging and enjoyable. I appreciated both narratives and their lead characters immensely. Elizabeth and Anna were both charismatic, intelligent and likable. The descriptions of flora and the art in the sketchbook really paints a picture and creates a stunning imagery in the mind. I was immersed in this book from the very beginning and found it to be a very easy read. A couple of times I had to look up the definition of a word used but nothing wrong with extending my vocabulary haha. Her books have been described as, 'sensitive, atmospheric and often heartbreaking' (Who Weekly), offering 'compelling storytelling' (Australian Women's Weekly), and 'deliciously immersive' (The Daily Telegraph).

I also read a lot of contemporary fiction, and love writers such as Celeste Ng, Maggie O’Farrell, Sarah Winman, Gabrielle Zevin, Ann Patchett and Maria Semple. Il titolo originale dell’opera, The Botanic’s daughter, è senz’altro più calzante rispetto alla traduzione italiana; sì perché, la prima protagonista in ordine di tempo, Elizabeth, è la figlia di un botanico, di un ricercatore appassionato di piante, di uno scienziato avventuriero in un’epoca in cui, senza aerei per attraversare il globo terrestre, si utilizzava la nave. Un viaggio pericoloso, malsano, che lasciava scie di incauti viaggiatori morti a bordo durante le lunghe rotte atlantiche.

In 2017 Anna is renovating her grandmother‘s home which has been left to her. During this renovation a hidden shelf in the wall is uncovered. A notebook and an intricately carved metal box are found hiding in this space. Inside the box is a sketchbook with stunning watercolours of plants, a photograph and a small bag of seeds. These set Anna, who owns a garden business, on a quest to find out more about all the items. The second story in the timelines is from 1886. Elizabeth determines to honour her father’s search for a rare, though highly poisonous plant. Along with her maid Daisy, she sets off on a sea voyage from Cornwall to Chile. There she finds love. But danger is also luring close by. Danger that is intrinsically linked to the search for the plant, because Elizabeth is not the only one after it. And some people it seems will stop at nothing to get what they want. Elizabeth is aware it is imperative the plant does into fall into the wrong hands. Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes. As you've probably guessed, there's a connection between Elizabeth, the journal and Anna's grandmother's house. Elizabeth is a botanist’s daughter with a gift for illustrating plants. Her father travelled the world in search of rare botanical specimens. On his deathbed in 1886, he forces his previously sheltered daughter to agree to go to Chile in search of a rare and deadly plant, before his archrival finds it. Elizabeth sets out on the secret mission with her lady’s maid, under the guise of wanting to paint exotic plants. She unleashes an unexpected and dramatic series of events that reverberate all the way to Anna in modern-day Australia. Two different journeys in two separate centuries. We accompany Elizabeth as she travels from Cornwall to Valparaiso, while she looks for this wondrous plant, and as she finds a new life. We accompany Anna as she travels to London and then to Cornwall in search of answers. Who was responsible for the watercolours, and how did they end up in her grandmother’s home? And, as we accompany these two women on their separate journeys, we see some of the best and worst of human nature on display.In this beautifully realised novel, two women of the same profession, the field of botany, are in a race to find the key to a powerful flower. These two women are separated by time. In Victorian England, Elizabeth is quite the trailblazer. She leads the charge, continuing in her late father’s endless search to source a precious plant that has the power to heal beyond words. It is a hazardous quest, which involves a lengthy voyage from Cornwall, to Chile. Elizabeth will stop at nothing to fulfil her father’s legacy, but it is a journey marked by much danger. Another pioneering botanist who appears over a century after Elizabeth is Anna, based in Sydney in the present day. When her grandmother passes away, Anna discovers a mysterious metal box among her belongings. Inside she finds a cache of items. These include a book of watercolour sketches, a photograph and a bag of seeds. For Anna this sets forth a pathway to self discovery and an unearthing of a century old tale. Knygą pasirinkau skaityti dėl pavadinimo, nes pats kolekcionuoju augalus. (Daugiausia orchidėjas). Kadangi skyriai knygoje trumpučiai – negalėjau atsitraukti. Knyga mane įtraukė ir nepaleido. Ypatingai patiko Elizabetės istorijos dalis, nes istorija pasakojama 2017 ir 1887 metais. Knyga parašyta lengvu stiliumi ir lengvai skaitoma. Puikiai tinka praleisti laisvalaikiui. When I am walking or cooking or driving I’m also in the world of my current novel, thinking about the characters and what might happen next, so I make sure to always have a notebook to hand. How much research did you need to do in preparation for writing this book especially in regards to botanical art and travel in the 1800’s?