The China Garden

VOTED WINNER OF THE PEWTER CUP - VIRGINIA READING ASSOCIATION 1999 YOUNG READERS HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL

1997 YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY ASSOCIATION  (YALSA) OF THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

'BEST BOOKS FOR YOUNG ADULTS' SELECT LIST

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY'S

1997 'BEST BOOKS FOR TEENAGERS'

EXHIBITION AND LIST.

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About the book...

'Remember, I tried to stop you. Don't blame me. Remember I tried to warn you.'

Clare is chilled by her mother's warnings to stay away from Ravensmere, the large country house where her mother has taken a private nursing job.  But Clare knows she has to go there - it is not a choice but a compulsion. And she only intends to stay a few weeks, anyway, just until she goes to university in the autumn.

Ravensmere is a strange, enchanting place, but she grows increasingly disturbed. How come the local villagers appear to know her? Why is she having these odd visions? And who is the attractive, leather-clad stranger who is watching her? What is the power of the Benison and why must she visit the China Garden in the middle of the night?

Ravensmere casts a magical spell over Clare, drawing her into a mystery that stretches back over thousands of years. She knows that Ravensmere and the valley are in danger and that time is running out - but will she risk her future to save it?

The China Garden is a haunting novel of an ancient legend, family secrets and young love. A heady mixture of romance and mystery.

Editions 

UK First paperback edition 2005

Gallery 41 Books, London

ISBN 0-9548864-5-3

Cover design: Melinda Sandell

First published 1994

Victor Gollancz Ltd. London

ISBN 0-575-05773-4

Cover illustration: Harvey Parker

US First Edition 1996

Farrer, Strauss and Giroux, NY.

ISBN 0-374-31248-6

Cover illustration: Hilary Mosberg

US paperback 1999

Avon Books

ISBN 0-380-73228-9

Cover illustration: Russell Gordon  Photography:Ryuichi Sato/Photonica Photo-illustration Slow Hearth Studio

US Audio Book l997

Recorded Books, Inc. N.Y.

ISBN 0-7887-1801-0

Narrated by Virginia Leishman

Cover illustration:  Hilary Mosberg

Reviews 

'Like a jewel box with hidden drawers and compartments, this finely crafted, multilayered  novel holds many secrets.  Berry builds a setting and atmosphere richly laden with mystery and suspense, in which the ordinary often masks unexpected inter-connections and the extraordinary is natural to the story's wildly imagined terrain.'  Publisher's Weekly (starred review).

'There are hidden mysteries, concealed relationships, visions and dreams.  Tense, convincing, powerful.' Bookchat

'A tense, gripping thriller. The story is a dense mixture of realism and romance, magic, mystery and history, which altogether makes an exciting read.' Children's Books in Ireland

'A lushly romantic tale that unfolds in layers and is firmly grounded in mythology.' Booklist

'Great stuff this, strong, sexy, emotional.' The Junior Bookshelf