Subtitled "The radical lives of Britain's pioneering women gardeners" I found the subject of this non-fiction work fascinating. Fiona Davison is ideally suited for this as she is the Head Of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS and has already written a book on the history of working-class male horticulturists. I haven't read that but I think exploring the female experience may be more enthralling for what it has to say about attitudes in the wider society from the late Victorian period to the end of World War I.
The author takes as her starting point what was deemed as a "surplus" of unmarried middle/upper class women. A number of these, unable or unwilling to fulfil the expected roles of wife and mother found meaning in gardens and horticulture and sought paid employment within the gardening profession.
In 1891 "The London Women's Gardening Association" was formed and became involved in seeking places for women to study at the Swanley Horticultural College in Kent. By 1895 there were 34 women in this previously all-male institution and in the RHS Examinations they were outperforming the men. There was much press interest in this and putting a modern perspective on things it might be seen as a turning-point with these very successful graduates being snapped up for prestigious jobs. It's no plot-spoiler to say that this didn't happen and the fear of women taking male jobs, concerns about physical activity, appropriate clothing (early female workers at Kew Gardens wore male attire and were referred to as "boys"), perceived inability to lead and inspire male workers and just plain out and out prejudice meant that the entry of women into the world of gardening progressed slowly.
Fiona Davison brings this all to life by focusing upon six women and their experiences and careers although there is a large cast of characters who support and hinder the six in their objectives. There's a nice progression into the Votes For Women movement, especially with a couple who establish a violet growing business at the time the flowers become a symbol for the Suffrage campaign. There's urban development, a craze for "French Gardening", preparation for life in the colonies, market gardens, all of which involve some of our six women in some way. The outbreak of War saw some concessions being made as conscripted men caused huge holes in the workforce with Land Army girls taking on work which would have been deemed impossible for women in the years before, but when the war ended so did many of these new opportunities.
I must admit, with such a large cast of characters I did lose sight of the focus women and I did think this was going to be one of my small niggles about this book but the author brings everything together in the closing chapter. I know I've been involved in a non-fiction work when on completion I'm scouring the bibliography for related titles and on this occasion this has led me to purchases of "Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story Of The Great Pilgrimage And How Women Won The Vote" by Jane Robinson and "Daisy: The Lives And Loves Of The Countess Of Warwick" by Sushila Anand, so thanks Fiona Davison for those recommendations.
The focus is small within this book, women gardeners, and yet it feels a significant work in Britain's social history, in the telling of stories which have not been shared before and all done in a very readable and often very affecting style.
An Almost Impossible Thing is published by Little Toller Books on 5th September. Many thanks to the publishers for the advance review copy.
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