The Gentleman's Garden

by Catherine Jinks

Set in colonial Australia, this romantic novel explores love, hardship, and the strength of the human spirit. Dorothea Brande leaves the quiet harmony of her English home to accompany her soldier husband to rough-and-tumble Sydney in 1814. To soften the harshness of their life there, she begins cultivating an English garden with the help of her convict manservant, Daniel. Together, in the creation of this garden, Dorothea and Daniel find a new strength and a special kind of refuge, both in the garden and with each other. Dorothea begins to adapt to her unforgiving new environment, but her husband is steadily destroyed by it. Written in the spirit of the works of Jane Austen and George Eliot, the novel is set against a vivid backdrop of the political events of the time while the public and personal gossip of the day weave in and out of the storyline.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

444 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Catherine Jinks is the Australian author of more than thirty books for all ages. She has garnered many awards, including the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award(three times), the Victorian Premier’s Award, the Aurealis Award for Science Fiction, the Australian Ibby Award, and the Davitt Award for Crime Fiction. Her work has been published in Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Thailand.

Catherine was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1963. She grew up in Papua New Guinea, where her father worked as a patrol officer. Her high-school years were spent in Sydney, NSW; in 2006, her alma mater, Ku-ring-gai High School, named its library after her.

From 1982 to 1986, Catherine studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with an honours degree in medieval history. She then worked on Westpac Banking Corporation’s staff magazine for approximately seven years. In 1992 she married Peter Dockrill, a Canadian journalist; in 1993 she and her husband left Australia for a brief spell in Nova Scotia, where she began to write full time. They returned to Australia in 1994, and Catherine gave birth to her daughter Hannah in 1997. Since 1998, she and her family have been living in Leura, NSW.

She has two brothers, and two pet rats. Like most people in Leura, she has become a slave to her garden, but not to the extent that she’ll buy rooting powder.

Catherine has been writing books since she was eight years old. She doesn’t expect to stop writing them any time soon.

Author photo: Catherine Jinks in front of 'Conceptual Networks', by artist Paul du Moulin.
Photo by Paul du Moulin

Reviews

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine the number of research hours the author put into this book. It's enormously well detailed. It is a window into the daily life of a gentlewoman in early Sydney with all its burdens and responsibilities. Sadly for Dorothea Brande, the soldier husband she hoped to build a happy life with is really a selfish child, and their marriage goes south not in a melodramatic way, but by degrees and subtle realizations, which are all too real. Building her garden with servant Daniel becomes Dorothea's only joy. There are some very comical scenes involving the local servant/prisoners, and quite a study of local society gossip. Some of the city's notable characters are based on actual figures from Sydney's early history. I loved this book for it's rollicking portrayal of an early 18th century colony, and uplifting story of Dorothea and Daniel, which rings so gentle and true.

[Jane Routley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating book about early Sydney

[Lynette]

DNF this book. Just couldn’t get going with it. Maybe just not the right time for me to read it.

[Josh McDade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my kind of book.
Was very easy to read and I think well researched to give an insight of the class and race issues of the early colonial period.

[Bethany]

Rec’d by Sue

[Central Highlands Libraries]

Set in colonial Australia, this romantic novel explores love, hardship, and the strength of the human spirit. Dorothea Brande leaves the quiet harmony of her English home to accompany her soldier husband to rough-and-tumble Sydney in 1814. To soften the harshness of their life there, she begins cultivating an English garden with the help of her convict manservant, Daniel. Together, in the creation of this garden, Dorothea and Daniel find a new strength and a special kind of refuge, both in the garden and with each other. Dorothea begins to adapt to her unforgiving new environment, but her husband is steadily destroyed by it. Written in the spirit of the works of Jane Austen and George Eliot, the novel is set against a vivid backdrop of the political events of the time while the public and personal gossip of the day weave in and out of the storyline.

“Surprised! Thought she was a children’s author. History –set in Sydney”

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

It doesn't follow conventional structure, it rambles and goes off in certain directions, but if that's the kind of thing you like you'll enjoy this story. A beautiful ending, with a protagonist that finally got her -- ahem -- stuff together and finally got up and no longer allowed her husband to domineer her. I think the fact that Daniel's plight triggered her to stand up to Charles for once in her life, even when she couldn't stand up for herself, was a beautiful ending. Thanks to that incident, what had been a once-spineless character came into her own in an amazing way that would have had me whooping and cheering aloud if I wouldn't have looked very silly for it.

If you prefer fast and consistent pace, this is not for you. If you do however like character-driven novels with more subtle relationships and slow pace, then you'll enjoy this.

[Di · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my local book group. It's a racy tale about the life of a young 'English rose' in the rough colony on New South Wales in 1815. Changes in the society, introduced by the progressive Governor, Macquarie, cause hostile reactions among the conservative military men like Dorothea's husband, Charles, a weak, spineless and sick individual. Dorothea has her eyes opened and her life changed forever. An entertaining novel set in time of great change in the history of Australia.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got really frustrated with this book. The overall story was enjoyable but it was soooo slow moving. It had lots of extra detail which, in my opinion, just wasn't necessary. Having said that, I did like it.

[Sharon Baber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written, moving story set in early 19th century Australia. I loved it.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much more than I expected, by the end I couldn't put it down. It is very well researched and nicely written. I'm not usually into romantic stories but this was subtle but powerful.

[Jodie Esler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourites and I've read it a few times.