The Books of Our Lives

     

I don't know about you lovely readers, but we're very fond of books in our family. Newspapers too. But we're really fond of books.
      

My parents, who were both schoolteachers, force-fed us books from birth. I'm so glad they did. My frugal mother encouraged us to borrow them from the library because they were free. We borrowed piles. Piles. They used to topple over each other around the house, their aged pages bent from borrowings over the years. I always received library fines because I forgot to return them. Or perhaps I didn't want to? I even loved the smell. Old books. They should bottle that scent.

I still miss those cardboard pockets in the front for the library cards. Remember those? The Browne System. Seems centuries ago. Even Wikipedia didn't have an entry for the Browne System until recently. I'm not sure if that's ironic or not?

Such is the love of literature in our family that it's no wonder I became an author. I couldn't get away from books. A new book is my idea of A Good Time. (Writing them is a different story, but I won't bother you with my personal issues.) Ironically, my partner hates books. I've been trying to get him to read Hemingway's Boat, but he looks as me as if I've offered him a dirty handkerchief. I explained that it's about fishing, and hunting, and manly pursuits, but he's not convinced. "It's quite thick?" he says, doubtfully. He's very clever, but he obviously didn't get it from books.

(On a little aside, I was chatting to a head librarian at a literary breakfast last week. She said they had 40 copies of Fifty Shades of Grey, and 1200 people on the waiting list. Does anybody else think this is disturbing?)

At the moment, I'm writing a book about Picnic at Hanging Rock, the haunting Australian novel about the disappearance of a group Edwardian schoolgirls at the turn of the century. Hubster tries to be supportive by offering cynical helpful suggestions. "You could organise a bloggers' tour of Hanging Rock?" he says. "The Where-Is-Miranda Tour? People could be given the novel, and a GPS. Some of them may also disappear, of course. That might be awkward."

He's not read Picnic at Hanging Rock. But that doesn't stop his attempts at being a witty literary critic. Everyone's a critic now, it seems. Even those who don't read.

If, like some people, you have an aversion to anything with paper, a title and a spine, I'd like to help. Really. Let's call it therapy. Here are some beautiful books. Books that will make you think, and linger on pages, and even cry over lines. You may even read them twice. You may even get a library fine.

These are the books that have defined my life. Have you ever thought about the books that have defined yours?

John Steinbeck | Travels With Charley In Search of America

Half a century ago, John Steinbeck set off on The Great American Road Trip, travelling along the bumpy back roads in a nostalgic effort to find freedom, fulfilment and meaning. Heavy with the weariness and cynicism that comes with age and life, he was intent on searching for the America he remembered from his childhood, and perhaps also for his soul. Steinbeck’s expedition, which eventually became the book Travels With Charley in Search of America, would end up being one of his last. He was dying, and, according to his son Thom, he knew he was dying, and he went out to his country "to say goodbye".

Half a century later, Travels With Charley is still one of the most moving travel books I've ever read. It is the journey many of us wish we had the courage to take: the journey some of us find the courage to do, even if, like Steinbeck, we know at the outset our journey may not end the way we would like it to. I first read it when I travelled across America on my own road trip, to find my own soul. I now re-read it every year. And each time it resonates in an unexpectedly profound way. We are all on a lifelong pursuit to find happiness, quiet horizons, harmony and a place to feel at home. Sometimes we find them. Other times it takes a circuitous route to realize, like Steinbeck and his dog Charley, they might have been back where we started, all along.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

Few books move me to tears. This required an entire tissue box. It's an epistolary tale, a novel of letters between a book editor and the people she meets on the island of Guernsey after the war has destroyed their idyll. But it's more than just a collection of lovely lines. It's an ode to books. And to people who love them. That's why I cherish it. The truly tragic thing though is that its author, Mary Ann Shaffer, died before the book achieved success. She was an editor, a librarian, and a bookshop assistant. This was her first novel. I hope that, wherever she is, she knows how much her small novel has moved so many readers.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

Many years ago, I attended a girls' school, where I met a girl who became a close friend. One year, she invited me back to her family's beautiful house for Easter. While there, she told me that her great-grandmother had gone to a girl's school too – with the author Joan Lindsay. She also told me that her great-grandmother had once told her that Joan's novel was true. Or a surprisingly significant part of it, anyway. 

Since then, I've always been fascinated by this book, which has become one of Australia's most famous novels. 

A few years ago, I started researching the background behind it. Three years on, I've finished writing my own take on the tale. Some of it is indeed true. But what is really haunting is the story behind it all. It involves the history of Hanging Rock. And what happened there a century ago.

Last week, I met a girl at a literary breakfast. A spiritual soul. She took me aside and quietly told me she knew I'd been profoundly affected by the book. It's true. Our lives have been overshadowed by the things I've discovered. When I'm finished editing it, which will be soon, I want to go away and wash the ghosts off somewhere. Possibly on a remote beach. Far from the horrors of Hanging Rock. 

Despite this, it's still a beautiful book. And more brilliant than most people realise.

The Great Gatsby

It's a literary cliche, but for good reason. It's F.Scott Fitzgerald's best. Forget the crazy nonsense of his life. This book shows he did indeed have talent.

As I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him.

The tragedy of this story is almost unbearable. It's a study of much more than just class, and society. It's a study of dreams. They say you can have anything you want in life, as long as you're willing to sacrifice everything else for it. I've learned this in my quest to become a writer. Gatsby knew it, too. Sometimes, though, the things we sacrifice (children, family, a life) are more than we can bear. Reading the last page of this book gives me chills, every single time.

The Grand Botanica Tour, Part 2

I'm overwhelmed. Who knew there were so many passionate, garden lovers out there? Over the last few days The Library has been inundated with emails accepting or enquiring about details of our inaugural Garden Tour. Initially, I thought we might be lucky to fill a 20-seater bus? It now appears we might have to run 2 tours. Perhaps more, if the response continues. I fear we'll be spread-eagled in the herb beds of the Physic Garden (above) by the end!

Emails have come from everywhere: Vancouver, Connecticut, North Carolina, Georgia, Seattle, Washington DC, Brisbane, Adelaide, and even gorgeous little country hamlets in Australia. From garden designers. Interior designers. Academics. Even lawyers. (They'll help keep us out of trouble.) Thank you. We'll love having you all. The more diverse the demographics, the more interesting a group it will be. Don't you think? The only requirement is a sense of humour. But if you're used to dealing with Mother Nature, it's likely you'll be a well-adjusted, come-what-may kind of soul anyway.

(Oh, and someone asked about the "dress code". How gorgeous. Tip: Don't bring the Chanel. You'll lose it – or have it ripped off you in the craziness that is the Chelsea Flower Show.)

You may have noticed that the name of the has changed? (Although still a working title.) This is because we wondered whether the 'frock' part was sexist? There may, after all, be a gentleman or two on the tour and unless these gentlemen like to dress up in Priscilla numbers and sing to Mamma Mia, then we really ought to make it welcoming for both sexes. (Of course, these gentlemen may love a frock, and if they do, we'll embrace them for it.)

A lovely friend, Miss Millie, who writes a famous blog about life, interiors, gardening, architecture and family at The Laurel Hedge (even the name is fitting) is keen to help lead the tour. She's a seasoned world traveller with a great sense of humour and an eye for interesting places. She's lovely. You'll like her. (You probably know of her.) Together, we'll show you the glorious secrets of London and England in summer. And if you've never been to London before, don't worry. I'll look after you.

Price. That's what you're wondering, isn't it? Well, I hate over-paying for things and so some of the quotes I've received from travel agents I've contacted have made me cough. ($12,000 for 10 days?) I'm still costing it (it has to be affordable for me too), but I should warn you: The Grand Botanica Tour is not an Orient Express-with-Louis-Vuitton-luggage kind of tour. It's going to be a Frugal Tour. It's a tour for people who haven't been able to afford the $12,000-a-week tours. That's doesn't mean we're sleeping cheap. Or eating on the steps of the V&A. Oh no. Trust me. I know the most beautiful little places that go under the global radar. (Oh, and don't take the Vuitton luggage either; people pinch it from airport carousels. We don't want you to be bereft.)

Here's another glimpse of the itinerary. Do email me your personal email / details if you're interested, to janelle.mcculloch@bigpond.com, and I'll put you on The Royal List (as we're calling it). Highgrove, Sissinghurst, Hidcote, and a dozen other magical places. Bring the camera. You'll love it.

The Romantic Garden

Many gardens want to be Sissinghurst when they grow up. But sadly, few of us have a spare crumbling 16th-century brick wall hanging about. Sissinghurst has been the inspiration for thousands of gardens in the world. The White Garden. The Walled Garden. The Writer's Tower. It's all here. Sadly, the creators, writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband, the author and diplomat Harold Nicholson aren't. But their spirit still is. Just stand inside her turreted writer's room and see if you don't feel a small chill. Tip: Read a few books about it before you go. (Portrait of a Marriage; Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History.) It will help you understand the significance of this place in gardening culture and indeed literature and the English countryside.

The Charming Garden

This enchanting garden belongs to a famous Australian, a woman who marketed the Sydney Opera House for years before she retired to her garden. Her extraordinary home near Sydney was the focus of countless gardening programs. (I think even our Monty went there?) Now she's moved to England. Where she's created another horticultural masterpiece. Look. Even the chickens get their own chinoiserie henhouse.

The Victorian Palm House 

If you haven't been to Kew, come on this tour. We'll be trundling down to Richmond and Kew. (And yes, the Petersham Nurseries too.) Kew's Victorian Palm House is one of the wonders of gardening architecture. It's so beautiful, they do fashion shoots in it. There's lots of other marvellous gardenalia in this grand royal garden, including an exquisite little palace, so we won't rush you. You may be here for an hour or two.

The 18th Century Orangerie and Secret Walled Garden, London

I used to love going here on a sunny Sunday if my husband was working. I'd grab some lunch from the nearby M&S and wander here to sit in the sun. I'd take friends to the gracious Orangerie too, which was designed as a royal greenhouse for Queen Anne to potter around in and is rather grand. It's one of the loveliest afternoon teas in London. My choice is normally Earl Grey Blue Flowers. The royal roses are pretty here, too.

The Secret Rooftop Garden

A short walk from the Orangerie is another secret garden, a rooftop one that looks out over the beautiful terraces of Kensington. It has three themed sections: the Tudor Courtyard, English Woodland, and Alhambra-inspired Spanish Garden. Four flamingos used to roam the premises. Can you imagine? Four flamingos in the middle of London? I suspect they've taken them someone safer. The Lost Flamingos' Home, maybe. (Note: We can walk to all these lovely urban oases.)

The Garden and Interior Design Museum

This is a marvellous museum. One of London's best. And it's free. FREE! (Told you it will be a Frugal Tour.) It displays the evolution of British interior design from the beginning of the 17th Century with a series of period rooms charting the Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian periods. But the really cute part is the garden, which also charts Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian planting schemes. It may inspire you to create your own Downton Abbey/Edwardian garden when you get home.

The Private Gardens of London

Here's the real treat. During the week(s) we're there, many Londoners open their private gardens to the public for the Open Garden Squares Weekend. One £9 ticket buys access to more than 200 gardens, 120 of which are private. The list includes the garden in the film Notting Hill, several of the private gardens normally reserved for the residents who live on the squares around them, and some rather large estates too. There are so many, you'll have to choose in advance what you see. But don't worry. We'll give you a full list. (Image of the Draper's Company garden. Photography by Drew Bennelick)

The Gardener's Garden

We'll also do one of London's most serene gardens, a tucked-away place that's right next door to the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm not been here, despite walking past it hundreds of time during the years I lived in the neighbourhood. So it will be a treat for me too. It's a highly regarded garden. Founded in 1673 as the Apothecaries' Garden, with the purpose of training apprentices in identifying plants, it's London's oldest botanic garden, and a real gardener's garden. A serious garden. Along the with new Garden of Edible and Useful Plants, there are more than 5,000 different edible, useful, medicinal and historical plants, all in beds with signs displaying their use. I like the psychiatry plants. I suspect we'll need a few of these before the week of concentrated horticulture is out!

More details will follow in the next few weeks. There will likely be 2 tours.

• One from May 22-30, which takes in the 100th anniversary of Chelsea Flower Show and the Sloane in Bloom gardens that accompany it, plus a line-up of wonderful country gardens in the Cotswolds and Kent.

• And one from June 1-9, which takes in the Open Garden Weekend in London and an array of more wonderful country gardens in the Cotswolds and Kent.

Each tour will be limited to a certain number of people. Just so we don't lose anyone in the peony beds.

We'll try to see some gardens that are outside of the Cotswolds and Kent too, such as Chatsworth House and Highclere Castle, the setting for Downton Abbey. But bookings will be limited, as some of these gardens are only open on certain days of the year. (Highclere Castle will be on the second tour.) We may not even be able to secure a spot as tickets are so difficult to come by. But we will try. Promise!

So do email your interest. We'd love to see you. Cousin Matthew would too. 

The Flowers, Frocks & Botanical Fantasies Tour 2013

Well, who would have thought that a tiny line of copy (so tiny, it was tacked onto the end of a blog post like an after-thought), would lead to such a wonderful, heart-warming display of garden love?

The response that The Library has received to the idea of a Garden Tour has been overwhelming. (Link here)

It was such a small idea: the seed of an idea, really. To be honest, I didn't think many (any) would respond. Well, who has time to do anything but work now? I barely have time to weed our garden. (Which looks more like the film Grey Gardens every day. Only without Jackie Kennedy's cheques to fund the place.) The idea of flying halfway around the world to wander around the potagers, peonies and garden paths of someone else's seemed like folly.

But gardeners love a bit of folly. And ideas – even seeds of ones – can blossom into magnificent things.

And so I'm pleased – really pleased – to announce that there will indeed be a Garden Tour to England in 2013. Providing I can configure it all. (And soon!)

Scheduled to include the 100th Anniversary of the Chelsea Flower Show (aka 'The Big One'), our 'Flowers, Frocks & Botanical Fantasies Tour' (working title; need more G&Ts to workshop it) is shaping up to be a wonderful celebration of gardens, horticulture, glamour, London, literature (we'll be seeing several writers' gardens), and the gloriousness that is England's countryside in high summer.

We'll be seeing this private garden (above and third image from top), if I can secure us a tour. They only allow groups, apparently. So do email me if you're interested in coming and I'll add your name to The Royal List. (Tip: It's best to see this garden before its owner becomes King of England and it becomes off-limits to happy, chattering little gardeners traipsing all over its herbaceous borders. Which may well be soon.)

We'll also be wandering around this famous Arts and Crafts garden, which has inspired and influenced so many gardeners over the years, including Stella McCartney, who drew on its horticultural style for her own country estate.

We'll pop into this garden, once owned by a lovely gardener who contributed a lot to Highgrove's style, and was also known for her skill with vegetable gardens. (Such as her own, above.) 

Some of us may even be lucky enough to stay here, in her house. Others with a limited budget, such as this librarian writing this post, will happily stay at the swanky pub across the road (owned by the same people), and walk across to The Big House for dinner. Oh – and Elizabeth Hurley/Shane Warner live right next door, so if we're lucky, we might be able to say "G'day, how's the garden looking, Warnie? That espalier needs a bit of a clip!" across the top of the box hedges.

And we'll take the tour bus up to this now-famous (some would say infamous, because of its high prices) place, which seems like a farm but is in fact a haute-cultural hideaway of the highest order. Lots of slick farm shops at this place, with lots of hand-made things to buy, including gorgeous gardening stuff, so if you're practising The Art of Frugality, like me, best keep that handbag close.

There will be walks through the English Cotswolds, including the village where Prince Charles proposed to Diana next to a cute old turnstile. (NB I found this supposed image of the Cotswolds on the Net, but I think it may actually be Castle Combe in Wiltshire, another of my favourite places, so don't get your hopes up as we may not go. Unless you all want to trundle down to Wiltshire?)

We'll stay here... 

(NB A famous interior designer designed it so it's more than your average coaching inn. Also has a lovely kitchen garden so our vegies will be crisp-fresh.)

And here...

(Look at the wicker cloches on the dining table. You can tell they love gardeners.)

And perhaps here too, when we're in London.

(Garden colours. Very pleasing. The bathtubs and showers are also very decadent at this place.)

Or here, if I can organise enough rooms?

I travel on a frugal budget (drummed into me by my frugal mother), so I usually opt for a single room in this hotel. But even these are beautiful. Normally this much pink would scare me (I love pink, but perhaps not dreaming in a cloud of it), but this was heavenly. Just heavenly. These rooms even have French doors leading to a huge terrace overlooking the charming architecture. 

Don't worry. If you come on The Tour, I'll give you all these Frugal Contacts.

Some of us may also stay here, depending on budgets.

(Look at the watering cans. All the hotels I've picked have a garden theme, but this is really cute.)

We'll be heading for Chelsea too. It's the 100th year of the iconic flower show, so there will likely be a memorable display of head-turning botanica. Chanel and Karl L won't be there again, sadly (above pic), however fingers and spades crossed that another designer will do a cheeky haute-garden design. Tom Ford, are you listening?

We may even see a celeb or three, carting all their horti-goods to their cars. ("Mr Don, would you like a hand with that?")

And of course around the streets of Chelsea there will be flora galore too, with the Sloane in Bloom competition that coincides with Chelsea. Look at Cartier's window. And French Sole's. There are free guided tours of all these beautiful boutiques and their fine floral displays during Chelsea Week. Don't worry. We'll get you on them. You can thank us with a Cartier ring afterwards.

We'll also have some High Tea (or Bubbly) at this delectable place.

And do some shopping in Soho. (Tip: The fabric stores are fab here.)

And lots more too.

In short, we'll have a wonderful time. 

So take those gardening gloves off, pack up your trenchcoats, wellies, walking shoes and cameras, and come with us to England. It will be a gardening tour full of laughter, leaves, light, planting schemes, stories, and a flower or two.

(PS There are lots more gardens than these scheduled on the tour. And great London places too.)

If you've kindly emailed me to put your hand up for a spot, thank you – I will respond with more details soon. I'm so thrilled that you've expressed interest, and look forward to meeting you!

PS I lived in London for many years, and although my former husband and I lived in a teeny studio, (barely bigger than a dead rose petal really), it was still in a perfect position, just around the corner from Sloane Square, which is near where the Chelsea Flower Show is held each year. So I wandered these streets for six years. I can tell you every gorgeous boutique, every glamorous shoe shop, every secret vintage clothing shop (Chanel for a song!), every inspirational homewares store, and every great bar/pub/bistro within 5 miles. Probably 10. And I'll be more than happy to share every address.