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The Watcher in the Garden
Introduction by Margo Lanagan
Trespassing in Mr Lovett's secluded garden was a welcome escape for sixteen-year-old Catherine. A haven away from the parents who didn't understand her moodiness and from her pretty, even-tempered sister, Diana, who she resented. It was a place to be alone.
But this all changes when Catherine is confronted by Mr Lovett and, realising he is blind, decides to confide in him. And so begins a remarkable friendship.
Unexpectedly, a third person appears in the garden: an intruder. Terry, abrasive and sullen, menacing even—has a claim to make on the garden. It is a piece of land he feels should belong to his own family. In his plan neither Mr Lovett nor the garden are safe and it is up to Catherine to stop him but in Terry, she recognises something of herself.
Trespassing in Mr Lovett's secluded garden was a welcome escape for sixteen-year-old Catherine. A haven away from the parents who didn't understand her moodiness and from her pretty, even-tempered sister, Diana, who she resented. It was a place to be alone.
But this all changes when Catherine is confronted by Mr Lovett and, realising he is blind, decides to confide in him. And so begins a remarkable friendship.
Unexpectedly, a third person appears in the garden: an intruder. Terry, abrasive and sullen, menacing even—has a claim to make on the garden. It is a piece of land he feels should belong to his own family. In his plan neither Mr Lovett nor the garden are safe and it is up to Catherine to stop him but in Terry, she recognises something of herself.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 28, 2013
The garden that provides the backdrop for much of The Watcher in the Garden was apparently based on the Everglades, a genteel tourist attraction in the mountain town of Leura, outside Sydney. By co-incidence I visited these gardens several weeks before I picked up my copy of the book at a sale, and this fresh sense-memory added another layer to my reading.
Not that it's necessary to visit the Everglades - Phipson's prose is lushly evocative, and anyone who's found themeselves alone in the middle of stretch of bushland, and suddenly been caught up in the crackling stillness, will find descriptions of exterior and interior landscapes convincing.
My only qualm is the dialogue. A little stiff perhaps, a little "BBC english" (though Phipson was a transplanted pom, so that may shed some light). I was surprised to discover this was first published in 1982, and not 1965. Terry, in particular, does not talk like a delinquent bogan would have talked in the early 80s. A stray "bloody" does not really cut it. Not just the lack of swearing, the cadences really.
But on an interior level, this book really worked for me.
Not that it's necessary to visit the Everglades - Phipson's prose is lushly evocative, and anyone who's found themeselves alone in the middle of stretch of bushland, and suddenly been caught up in the crackling stillness, will find descriptions of exterior and interior landscapes convincing.
My only qualm is the dialogue. A little stiff perhaps, a little "BBC english" (though Phipson was a transplanted pom, so that may shed some light). I was surprised to discover this was first published in 1982, and not 1965. Terry, in particular, does not talk like a delinquent bogan would have talked in the early 80s. A stray "bloody" does not really cut it. Not just the lack of swearing, the cadences really.
But on an interior level, this book really worked for me.
August 3, 2013
A gift from beautiful Trinity :-)
Thank you!
Thank you!
February 8, 2019
An odd little book. A great magical realism storyline, but very waffley in places, which is unusual for a children's book. Also a bit far fetched in a few action scenes, which isn't.
I'm told it's set in NSW, so it's after 1971, as Daylight Saving is mentioned, but it could easily have been decades earlier from the language used. The landscape descriptions would have made more sense if I'd looked at an aerial view of Leura, NSW first.
I'm told it's set in NSW, so it's after 1971, as Daylight Saving is mentioned, but it could easily have been decades earlier from the language used. The landscape descriptions would have made more sense if I'd looked at an aerial view of Leura, NSW first.
October 1, 2021
I loved this. It's the first Joan Phipson I've read, and I'll definitely follow up with more. I love discovering mid twentieth century classic children's authors with the writing chops to carry you along, engrossed. Joan Aiken, Diana Wynne Jones and the like, are such confident writers, that you just sort of give yourself into their hands in the opening sentences and they have you all the way. And the tension. I was on the edge of my seat! (bed?)
May 13, 2025
I can't get enough of Joan Phipson! This 42 year old Australian Mother is loving the work of the children's author, haha. So glad I found her, look forward to reading more :)
Another tidy story which goes right into the minds of one or two characters, as does 'The Cats' by the same Author. This is another creepy, interesting story. LOVED IT.
Another tidy story which goes right into the minds of one or two characters, as does 'The Cats' by the same Author. This is another creepy, interesting story. LOVED IT.
June 29, 2013
It's almost 2 weeks since I finished reading this novel, and it is still lingering in my mind. It seems at first to be a quiet, unassuming novel but it has an undercurrent of disquiet that sticks with you.
The most striking thing about The Watcher in the Garden for me was the blend of contemporary YA with understated psychic forces that emerge so naturally out of the narrative so as to seem as realistic as the rest of the story's events. The story's heroine, Catherine, struggles with anger she seems powerless to control. She is fights with her family, feels unloved, unhappy and inferior to her older sister. She begins to find solace in the garden of a near neighbour, but the peace she finds there is threatened by another visitor to the garden, Terry, a restless soul who intends to harm the garden's blind, elderly owner, Mr Lovatt.
The story follows the fraught relationship between Catherine and Terry, and the growing violence between them as Catherine fights to protect Mr Lovatt while Terry plots to attack him. The garden also acts as a character in the novel, ever present and watchful, acting within its natural forces to both protect and attack.
This is a novel where the pressure builds slowly but inevitably, and the quiet, understated tone enhances its tensions. Although the connection between Catherine and Terry veers into the speculative it feels utterly real; there is nothing forced or fake about this novel.
This 1982 novel by Joan Phipson has recently been reissued as a Text Classic (in both paperback and ebook). It's great to see excellent fiction such as this being brought to the attention of new audiences. Its a timeless story that perfectly captures the restlessness, fear and frustrations of teenage life in an original narrative with strong characters and a slow-burning, surprising plot. Highly recommended.
The most striking thing about The Watcher in the Garden for me was the blend of contemporary YA with understated psychic forces that emerge so naturally out of the narrative so as to seem as realistic as the rest of the story's events. The story's heroine, Catherine, struggles with anger she seems powerless to control. She is fights with her family, feels unloved, unhappy and inferior to her older sister. She begins to find solace in the garden of a near neighbour, but the peace she finds there is threatened by another visitor to the garden, Terry, a restless soul who intends to harm the garden's blind, elderly owner, Mr Lovatt.
The story follows the fraught relationship between Catherine and Terry, and the growing violence between them as Catherine fights to protect Mr Lovatt while Terry plots to attack him. The garden also acts as a character in the novel, ever present and watchful, acting within its natural forces to both protect and attack.
This is a novel where the pressure builds slowly but inevitably, and the quiet, understated tone enhances its tensions. Although the connection between Catherine and Terry veers into the speculative it feels utterly real; there is nothing forced or fake about this novel.
This 1982 novel by Joan Phipson has recently been reissued as a Text Classic (in both paperback and ebook). It's great to see excellent fiction such as this being brought to the attention of new audiences. Its a timeless story that perfectly captures the restlessness, fear and frustrations of teenage life in an original narrative with strong characters and a slow-burning, surprising plot. Highly recommended.
May 9, 2017
I'm going overseas for a lengthy period later this year and the thing that's stressing me the most is leaving behind my own personal library and access to the many public lending libraries I frequent. But discovering Overdrive and the extensive free ebook collections of my two favourite libraries assuaged my fears. To get used to reading on the iPad, I picked a random book from the online catalogue last weekend: The Watcher in the Garden. I read Joan Phipson's The Cats when I was a teenager and thought I'd try another of her books now, as an adult. This was a strange one, and I'm not sure I liked it, hence the two stars. Two angry young people develop a psychic and emotional bond through their tense encounters in a blind man's garden; one becomes his friend, the other his enemy. The garden intercedes to protect the blind man from danger, which unexpectedly comes not from human violence but an act of nature. In a word, odd.
January 24, 2017
‘The Watcher in The Garden (1982) by Joan Phipson has been republished by Text Classics for a new generation of readers to appreciate this timeless tale of adolescent angst played out against the backdrop of its uniquely Australian background. The cover design and the wonderful introduction by Margo Lanagan set the mood for this remarkable tale.’
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews