The Peculiar Garden of Harriet Hunt

Harriet lives alone after her mother’s death and her father’s abandonment. She takes solace in her garden, but its mysterious connection to her emotional state also ties her down—she doesn’t dare leave and let it grow out of control. When a suspicious inspector begins investigating her father’s disappearance, with Harriet as his prime suspect, she agrees to a hasty marriage for protection. It’s not long before she realizes she’s trapped herself in a worse prison, one she’ll have to trust in her suppressed abilities to escape. The book’s slow-growing narrative communicates its heroine’s isolation in a society hostile to women. While Harriet’s bond with her garden adds a magical symbol of her pruned back potential, the threats of abuse and institutionalization she faces are all too real. The novel’s story of women resisting their time period’s constraints with fantastical help is reminiscent of The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller, and Harriet similarly finds escape by connecting with other women and her own inner strength.