Prepare to be “spellbound by the sheer charm” (Daily Express uK) of santa montefiore’s tender and powerful new novel about marriage, passion, loss, renewal, and the healing power of love.

A magical garden. A cottage that holds a secret. A mysterious Frenchman (handsome, naturally). A family in need of some love. These story elements are irresistibly entwined in this heartwarming novel by the author reviewers consistently compare to Maeve Binchy (Booklist) and Rosamunde Pilcher (Daily Mail UK). It begins as Miranda and David move out of London into a beautiful country house with a magical garden. But reality turns out to be very different from their bucolic dream. Soon the latent unhappiness in the family begins to come to the surface, isolating each family member in a bubble of resentment and loneliness. Then a mysterious Frenchman arrives on their doorstep. With the wisdom of nature, he slowly begins to heal the past and the present. But who is he? When Miranda discovers his secret in the cottage by the garden, the whole family learns that a garden, like love itself, can restore the human spirit, not just season after season, but generation after generation. Wise and winsome, poignant and powerfully moving, The French Gardener combines the savvy of contemporary women’s fiction with an old fashioned sensibility steeped in the importance of family and the magical power of love.

This book is on these lists:

• January 2012 Indie Next List
• December 2011 Indie Next List
• November 2011 Indie Next List