The Fair Botanists: Could one rare plant hold the key to a thousand riches?

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It’s the summer of 1822, and in Edinburgh botanists patiently await for the Agave Americana plant to flower in the newly-installed Botanic Garden . It tells you how to feel about it instead of letting you determine this yourself, and this pattern of telling instead of showing only continues when you open the cover. I never thought I would get so excited about a flower, but this is a serious and fascinating time and it completely enchanted me! It’s doesn’t trample on ahead at a rate of knots so you get lost in the plot, but equally it isn’t slow and difficult to get through.I liked the representation and the author's overall attention to the characters in the story as she made sure even the side characters had their own intetions, desires and developments, which made the ensemble and the story itself feel realistic but modern at the same time. I’m not aware of how much experience Ms Sheridan has with writing in the present tense, but over time one learns that certain recountings of past events need to be written in past tense to maintain the flow of the story. That happened in the past, and thus should be past tense – a simple change from ‘has’ to ‘had’ would go a long way in making this passage feel less awkward to read.

I thought this made fascinating reading as did the section at the end where the author gives more details as to her characters. Es muy reconfortante encontrar una novela histórica con mujeres fuertes y que no roza el panfletismo barato. Perfume is a big part of my world so it was genuinely fun writing directly about that – though there are always smells in my novels, this time I got to the nub of the thing!The present day might have rubbed off the edges and introduced more modern landmarks but this is an Edinburgh stuck in time. Independent minded and ambitious, she is prepared to pursue a life of pleasure without concern for social conventions. Whilst I did enjoy it, especially the plant descriptions and the incorporation of real historical characters, it was quite slow and I felt I was left with some loose ends when I finished the book. The cast of compelling characters is led by two charming heroines, Elizabeth and Belle, and include illustrious historical figures you’ll be delighted to meet in Sheridan’s lively portrayals.