The Kew Gardens Girls is a heart-warming novel inspired by real life events, about the brave women during WWI who worked in the historic grounds of London’s Kew Gardens. We had the chance to chat with author Posy Lovell about her debut novel The Kew Gardens Girls, writing, book recommendations, and so much more!
Hi, Posy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I am an author and journalist and I live in London with my husband and two sons. I have been writing for more than 20 years as a journalist for magazines. Most recently I wrote for a television mag (TV is my other love, aside from books). Since 2017, I’ve been writing novels pretty much full-time. I’m a big history geek and I love women’s history especially.
How is your 2021 going in comparison to that other year?
So far it’s exactly the same! Urgh. As I write this England is still in lockdown though my kids are back at school now, which is a big relief. I am not a good teacher! Things are gradually opening up now, though. In fact by the time you read this I should be browsing in a book shop!
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I remember reading was an Enid Blyton book of stories. I remember picking up the book, intending to ask my mum to read it to me, and realising I could read it myself. The story was called The Elephant and the Snail.
The one that made me want to become an author is not very highbrow, but I absolutely loved Sweet Valley High and the Sweet Dreams romances when I was a kid. I just drank them in, reading one or two every day. I think they made me realise how many stories there are to tell!
A book I can’t stop thinking about currently is Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan. It’s such a good read and is soon to be a Netflix series.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I always enjoyed writing and when I was at school I liked making up stories as a game for the girls in my class. They were mostly tragic romances or Jackie Collins style glamorous reads about my friends and boys that they had crushes on – I wish I’d kept them!
Your debut novel, The Kew Gardens Girls, is out April 20th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Resilience, bravery, romance, friendship and flowers
What can readers expect?
The Kew Gardens Girls is a story about the women who kept the gardens blooming when the men went off to fight in WW1. The female gardeners were paid the same as the men but it’s not just about their battle for equal pay. It’s about the Suffragettes and conscientious objectors, and tragedy, and bravery and making mistakes and learning from them.
Where did the inspiration for The Kew Gardens Girls come from?
I had just finished writing a book about the Suffragettes set in 1910, which was the beginning of their fight for voting rights in the UK. There was so much of their story left to write about that I found I was a bit reluctant to say goodbye to these women While I was researching that book, I came across a newspaper report about the Suffragettes targeting Kew Gardens and it seemed really jarring. Burning down the tea pavilion – which, by the way, was owned and run by a woman, something that was unusual back then – and vandalizing the orchid house seemed so at odds with their other efforts. Up until then I’d been fully on board with everything the Suffragettes had done, but reading this story made me think perhaps they made some mistakes and that really interested me. I started reading more about Kew Gardens and discovered the female gardeners who joined in WW1 were paid the same as the men, and suddenly I had the seeds of a story.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges was that I do not garden! We have a garden that I love sitting in, but I’m not a gardener. I don’t know anything about plants and flowers – or at least I didn’t! Making sure I didn’t make any glaring errors as I wrote about Ivy, Louisa and Bernie gardening was quite tricky but I was lucky enough to have some help from the brilliant experts at Kew. I actually really enjoyed learning about plants, and especially the language of flowers that Ivy and Jim use. I’m still not a gardener though!
If it’s not too spoilery, were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really liked writing Ivy and Jim’s romance. They’re so cute and supportive of each other – I liked watching it come to life. And I also enjoyed the conflict between Bernie and Louisa. I really enjoyed presenting Bernie’s point of view, then Louisa’s, and found I kept changing my mind as to who I agreed with. My favourite moment in the book involves Win, though, but I don’t want to give too much away because that really is a spoiler!
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
You know the Beatles song, The Long and Winding Road? Like that! It’s been a slow process. I wrote a romantic comedy called Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered which I started in 2005 and eventually finished in 2012. I sent it out and got many, many rejections back. But eventually, I won a competition by a new imprint publishing digital books and they published it in ebook. Since then I’ve found my ‘voice’ in writing historical fiction and written quite a few books. But this is my US debut and I’m so excited about it.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
When I was at university I had a friend called Ed. He’s now a big-shot lawyer and back then he was always very calm and never got stressed about work (probably why he’s a good lawyer!). When I was worrying about writing an essay or paper he would shrug and say: “Just write it down and hand it in.” And years later, it’s still Ed’s voice I hear in my head when I’m racing to hit a deadline or worrying that everything I’ve written is terrible. As long as you’ve got words on a page, you can make them better. Just write it down!
The worst is probably the most common writing advice. The advice to ‘write what you know’. I think that’s rubbish. We’ve got imagination for a reason!
What’s next for you?
I’ve just finished the sequel to my Kew Gardens story. It’s set during the Blitz in WW2, when London was being bombed every night and has a few familiar faces from The Kew Gardens Girls. I’m also reading about Frances Hodgson Burnett, who wrote The Secret Garden, as I’m hoping to write something about her – she had the most amazing life.
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Some of the best books I read last year were Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Grown Ups by Marian Keyes, and The Lost Man by Jane Harper. I love everything Stephen King writes. And I’m late to the party but I’ve just discovered the Bridgerton novels by Julia Quinn, thanks to the Netflix series.
