Capel Bells - Softcover

Charlotte Blair had worked hard all her life. Raised amongst the porters and street sellers of Covent Garden, she had achieved unusual success for a woman in 1911 -- her own flower shop. It was unfashionable, in a poor part of London, and made only a small profit, but Charlotte had a secret ambition to become one of the great floral decorators of the period, transforming the ballrooms and grand houses of the aristocracy. When she was bidden to Capel Manor for her first floral assignment, she fell in love with the house but -- cruelly -- fate snatched the commission away from her before she had even begun. It was several weeks later that she learned Capel Manor could be rented and, borrowing every penny she could, she moved her business to the beautiful old house, believing that this would give her entry into the great families of the neighbourhood. Beset with every problem, cheating gardeners, the crooked plans of her old friends in Covent Garden, and the return of Matthew Warrender, the owner of Capel Manor, Charlotte fought to realise her ambition to become the most famous floral decorator of her time.

Joan Hessayon was born in Louisville, Kentucky but grew up in Missouri. In 1949 she went to Paris where she met her husband, Dr David Hessayon, the creator of the bestselling Expert series of gardening books. They married in 1951 and share a love of history, plants and writing. Joan Hessayon's first novel was published in 1983. Her most recent novels, Capel Bells, The Helmingham Rose, The Paradise Garden and Season of Mists, are all published by Corgi.