Lost Paradise

In late 1914, the gardeners of Heligan estate in Cornwall wrote their names in pencil on the walls of their privy, before enlisting for service in the war. Most did not return When eighteen-year-old William Pascoe writes his name, the Head Gardener is only too pleased to be rid of the rebel in their midst. Infamous for his innovative botanical ideas, and distinguished by his commanding height and tangle of fair hair, he has drawn the eye of Diane Luxton, niece to the owner of the estate. When William is sent to the front, Diane follows him, working as a nurse for the Red Cross. Their lives, and the lives of friends and family around them, are soon changed beyond all recognition. Losing many of the fixed certainties he has lived by, William no longer knows who he is. As the war rages on, Diane searches for him, and his family await word, but William is amongst those who have gone missing. Winner of the 2013 Historical Novel Society International Award. " A haunting, generational novel of war, love, secrets and lies...with the scope of, say, a Kate Morton." Matthew Bates, Fiction Buyer, W. H. Smith Travel. "A lyrical war story, a yearning, poignant love story, a book with the biggest themes that grips and pulls but can also make you smile." Richard Lee, Founder Historical Novel Society "I lived in the story and was annoyed when I had to put it down to shower or cook or eat. There are sentences one wants to read aloud for the sheer pleasure of hearing them." Carole Blake, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency.