The Ghost Garden

"A compelling act of connection, leavened with humour, clear-eyed yet packed with hope." —Ann-Marie MacDonald A rare work of narrative non-fiction that illuminates a world most of us try not to see: the daily lives of the severely mentally ill, who are medicated, marginalized, locked away and shunned. Susan Doherty's groundbreaking book brings us a population of lost souls, ill-served by society, feared, shunted from locked wards to rooming houses to the streets to jail and back again. For the past 10 years, many who have cycled in and out of the locked wards of the Douglas Institute in Montreal found a friend in Susan, who volunteers on the wards and then accompanies her friends out into the world. With their full cooperation, she brings us intimate stories that challenge our views of people with mental illness. Through "Caroline Evans," a woman in her early sixties whom Susan has known since she was a bright, sunny school girl, we experience living with schizophrenia, such as when Caroline was convinced she could save her roommate from the devil by pouring boiling water into her ear... She has been through it all, including having to navigate an indifferent justice system that is incapable of serving the severely ill. Susan interleaves Caroline's story with vignettes about her other friends—stories that reveal their hopes, circumstances, personalities, humanity. Susan found that if she can hang in through the first 10-15 minutes of every coffee date with someone in the grip of psychosis, true communication results. Their "madness" is not otherworldly: instead it tells us something about how they're surviving their lives and what they've been through. The Ghost Garden carries a cargo of compassion and empathy that motivates us to re-examine our understanding of justice, society and humanity.

The forgotten garden that inspired Charles Darwin becomes the modern-day setting for an exploration of memory, family, and the legacy of genius. Darwin's childhood garden at The Mount in Shrewsbury was the site of some of the great scientist's earliest experiments. It was where, under the tutelage of his green-fingered mother and sisters, and the house's knowledgeable gardeners, he first examined the reproductive life of flowers, collected birds' eggs, and began to note down the ideas that would lead to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. In The Ghost in the Garden, Jude Piesse uncovers the lost histories that inspired Darwin's work and how his legacy, and the legacies of those around him, live on today.

When Ashley discovers a turn-of-the-century doll it is just the first of several puzzling events that lead her through the hedge and into a twilight past where she meets Louise, an ailing child whose beloved doll has mysteriously disappeared.

Within the tangled vines of a forgotten garden, can a blossoming new love overcome an ancient evil that threatens both the living and the dead? After losing her brother in the trenches of the Great War, Cecily James is a prisoner of Whitmore Hall, the respected but remote boys’ school where her brutish husband reigns as headmaster. With its forsaken walled garden, a hauntingly tragic past, and midnight footsteps heard from an unoccupied clocktower, Whitmore Hall is a place where the dead are rumored to walk. Whitmore Hall is a place filled with mysteries and as a ghost garden emerges from the sun-bleached soil, long-buried secrets cry out to be told. When new teacher Raf de Chastelaine blunders into an impromptu seance, Cecily finds an unlikely and eccentric ally. In a world of discipline and respectability, barefoot Raf is unlike any teacher Cecily has ever met. With his tales of the Carpathian mountains and a love of midnight gardening, he shakes Whitmore Hall to its foundations. Could there be more to Raf than meets the eye? And as he and Cecily realise that their feelings run deeper than friendship, dare they dream of a world beyond Whitmore Hall? As Cecily and Raf team up to unite long-dead lovers and do battle with an ancient evil that has long haunted Whitmore Hall, Cecily finds her chance of happiness threatened by her tyrannical husband. But is the controlling headmaster acting of his own free will, or is he the puppet of a malevolent power from beyond the grave?

Florence looks forward to a new life with her great uncle and aunt at an old manor house. But Florence doesn't expect the ghost of her cousin Sophia, who concocts a plan to use Florence to help her achieve her murderous goals.

Justice Jones, super-smart super-sleuth, is back for her third spine-tingling adventure! For fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Enid Blyton. Justice and her friends are third years now and there's an intriguing new girl in Barnowls. Letitia has never been to school before and doesn't care for the rules - and the teachers don't seem to mind! She decides that Justice is her particular friend, much to Stella and Dorothy's distress. But Letitia just isn't the kind of girl you say no to. Then, after a midnight feast in the barn, and a terrifying ghost-sighting in the garden, a girl disappears. Soon ransom notes appear, and they're torn from the pages of a crime novel. Where is the schoolgirl and who has taken her? It will take all of Justice's sleuthing to unravel this mystery!

Things aren’t as they appear at Government House, as Sam and J.J. soon discover on a field trip to the historic building, when they find themselves discussing mushroom growth with George Watt, the gardener of the property at the turn of the 20th century. Just as quickly as they landed in the past, they’re back in the present, mystified as to what happened and how they managed to travel back in time. When the class is assigned a project for the 125th anniversary of Government House, J.J. and Sam use the opportunity to find more information about the gardener, and have a meeting with Alice, one of the former housekeepers. But before they can begin, they’re confronted with a woman that no one else can see, and she attempts to speak to them, silently mouthing the word “watch”. Who is this mysterious woman, and what does her ghost want with Sam and J.J? In order to solve the mystery, the girls must navigate the grounds of Government House – a challenge because Sam and J.J. can’t cross them without winding up in the past. And with only the faintest idea of how to return to the present, their forays into the secrets and history of Government House become dangerous. Can they figure out what the ghost wants before they’re stuck in the past for good?

Missing maids, suspicious teachers and a snow storm to die for... For a fearless girl called Justice Jones, super-smart super-sleuth, it's just the start of a spine-tingling first term at Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. For fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Enid Blyton. When Justice's mother dies, her father packs her off to Highbury House Boarding School for the Daughters of Gentlefolk. He's a barrister - specialising in murder trials - and he's just too busy to look after her alone. Having previously been home-schooled, the transition is a shock. Can it really be the case that blondes rule the corridors? Are all uniforms such a charming shade of brown? And do schools normally hide dangerous secrets about the murder of a chamber maid? Justice takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. (Mainly about the murder, but perhaps she can figure out her new nemesis - the angelic Rose - at the same time.) But when a storm cuts the school off from the real world, the body count starts to rise and Justice realises she'll need help from her new friends if she's going to find the killer before it's too late ...