THE SEA GARDEN

Gardeners listen up! Victoria and Guy Jones inherit the Cornish island of Trelise and begin work to restore its famous gardens. Five generations of quirky, opinionated gardeners have lived and planted here. As Guy digs up the flower beds, his American wife probes into the family history in documents found in the priory and around the island. Botanically speaking, this is a work of love. Historically, it is a work of lusts, secrets, murders, and exotic plants. Gareth Armstrong is a masterful reader of this English household. His American Victoria, however, is a bit over the top. The character could easily be portrayed with a mid-Atlantic accent as she hails from New Hampshire, but Armstrong interprets her with an inappropriate drawl. This hardly detracts, however, from the enormous sweep of the novel and the intensity of the history, both human and plant. B.H.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 02/ JAN 03]