Hidden in the shadows of once-spectacular gardens in Essex, France and Italy, a story lies sleeping, of a woman whose ferocious talent marked a path in Victorian horticultural discovery and cultivation. Much like her gardens, however, her reputation has been left in ruins, her achievements all-but forgotten. Her name was Ellen Ann Willmott and these are her ghosts. At the turn of the 20th century, Miss Willmott's green-fingered reputation preceded her.
Experts flocked to see her gardens, and there was little her photographer's lens did not capture, earning her recognition in journals beyond her fame as a gardener. At the pinnacle of this shining career, however, a series of events jeopardised this reputation forever. In Miss Willmott's Ghosts, Sandra Lawrence lifts the creaking lid on a previously undiscovered archive to reveal virtuoso achievements, joyous creativity and celebrity rivalries in a tangled tale of squandered inheritance, unconventional love, and, at the heart of it all, a trailblazing talent.
Hidden in the shadows of once-spectacular gardens in Essex, France and Italy, a story lies sleeping, of a woman whose ferocious talent marked a path in Victorian horticultural discovery and cultivation. Much like her gardens, however, her reputation has been left in ruins, her achievements all-but forgotten. Her name was Ellen Ann Willmott and these are her ghosts. At the turn of the 20th century, Miss Willmott's green-fingered reputation preceded her.
Experts flocked to see her gardens, and there was little her photographer's lens did not capture, earning her recognition in journals beyond her fame as a gardener. At the pinnacle of this shining career, however, a series of events jeopardised this reputation forever. In Miss Willmott's Ghosts, Sandra Lawrence lifts the creaking lid on a previously undiscovered archive to reveal virtuoso achievements, joyous creativity and celebrity rivalries in a tangled tale of squandered inheritance, unconventional love, and, at the heart of it all, a trailblazing talent.
