Kew Gardens: A Novel

London England, 1888, is the setting of this tale of mystery and fantasy that took place during the Victorian era, in the age of miracles.Within London, on the banks of the Thames River, there is a village named Kew. This remote, peaceful little village is home to the world-famous Kew Gardens. The gardens attracted people from all over Europe with its beauty and exotic plant life. The landscape was filled with great towering, monstrous trees, magnificent hanging ferns, and wildflowers with such sweet smells and bright colors. There were beautifully constructed greenhouses, with walls of glass and skeletons of iron, which housed the world’s rarest and most endangered plant species. These gardens housed the world’s largest collection of nearly extinct breeds of orchids and…Oh…did I mention this was a tale of fantasy? Yes, there were other miracles here, in this Kew Gardens that may not be in the one you are familiar with, less natural seeming things like monstrous, man-eating rosebushes. The giant blossoms that had pollen which could cure amnesia. The humongous mushrooms were as big as giant trees. There was also ivy that could cover a wall in a few hours, and plenty of squash as big and ripe as the sun. There were flytraps that could eat horseflies and giant blue pansies that attracted their prey with sparkly blue pollen. There was so much beauty and wonder, that no one seemed to realize how dangerous Kew Gardens really was.In 1888, Bentley Peterson arrives at Kew Gardens, and the manor of Kew palace, to take up position as a new chemist, to work in the gardens. Things seem natural at first, but the longer he stays at Kew, the more he begins to uncover the natural and fantastical wonders and mysteries that the gardens hold, and an ancient secret that has been kept by the gardeners for over 100 years.Along with Bentley, you will be thrown into a world of wonder, mystery, and intrigue, a word of magic, enchantment and ferocity... A world where plants become the predator, and humans the prey... Read more