A vigorous nurseryman, deeply devoted to his art of cultivating and designing magnificent gardens, finds himself emotionally isolated in his conventional home life. His wife, an over‐involved social activist preoccupied with charity work and managing the local scene, has long dismissed his singular passion for nature. Their only true connection, a gentle and thoughtful daughter, embodies the unspoiled sincerity missing in the adult world. Into this divided household enters a quietly talented and sensitive painter who is engaged to provide illustrations for the nurseryman’s ambitious book on English gardens. As she becomes immersed in the living hues and secret language of plants, she gradually forms an unexpected, deeply intimate bond with him. Their personality and shared artistic vision set them apart from the rigid, conventional world around them. In the secret spaces of moonlit groves and among the meticulously arranged flower beds, the two discover a communion that transcends mere physical attraction—a meeting of kindred spirits for whom nature itself becomes both the subject and the medium of transcendence. Their growing closeness unfolds in a landscape as richly described as the inner lives of the characters. The nurseryman’s work, marked by creative innovation and an almost mystical understanding of color and growth, is contrasted with the everyday trivialities and social formalities that dominate his wife’s life. The sensitive painter, whose artistry is infused with both wistfulness and determination, becomes the voice of a new possibility for emotional honesty and creative freedom. Yet as their clandestine friendship deepens, it also exposes old wounds: the deep loneliness that has long haunted him and the secret despair of a woman caught between the demands of conventional propriety and the call of a freer, more passionate life. In the interplay between the unyielding rhythms of nature and the urban constraints of society, the narrative explores how beauty can be both a liberating force and a source of inevitable sorrow. The carefully cultivated gardens serve as a metaphor for both the promise of renewal and the painful process of transformation. Amid the lush landscapes—whether illuminated by the soft glow of dawn or the mysterious silver of moonlight—the characters’ inner lives are laid bare. The harmonious, yet fragile, connection forged between the nurseryman and the painter challenges the status quo, revealing that genuine intimacy and creative vision often come at the cost of social security and traditional obligations. Ultimately, when the sensitive painter decides that the only course available is to leave behind a familiar yet stifling world, she prepares to depart with nothing but her paintings and her hard-won self-knowledge. In doing so, she forces the nurseryman to confront the true nature of his own desires: the choice between clinging to a life defined by outward convention and embracing an uncertain but passionately authentic future. The work ends on a note of poignant renunciation and unyielding hope—a meditation on the sacrifices demanded by true creative and emotional liberation, where both beauty and sorrow are inextricably intertwined.
By Warwick Deeping · First published 1934 · Genre: Romance, Historical Fiction, Drama · 46 chapters