The Chinese Garden: A Novel

By: Rosemary Manning

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Synopsis: A &“very intelligent, sensitive, and compelling&” novel of adolescent rebellion and sexual awakening at a girls&’ boarding school (Anthony Burgess). Set in a repressive British girls&’ boarding school in the late 1920s—where not only sexuality but femininity is squashed—Rosemary Manning&’s &“wonderful&” 1962 novel is the coming-of-age story of sixteen-year-old Rachel, a sensitive, bright, and innocent student (The Guardian). Rachel finds refuge from the Spartan conditions, strict regime, fierce discipline, and formidable headmistress at Bampfield in a secret garden. She also finds friendship there, with a rebellious girl named Margaret. As Margaret has her mind expanded by a scandalous tome entitled The Well of Loneliness, she engages in a bold, forbidden act—the ultimate transgression at Bampfield—and Rachel is drawn into the turmoil. Confronted with the persecution of her friend and troubled by a growing awareness of her own sensuality, Rachel faces an impossible choice that drives her to desperate measures. Selected as one of the Top 10 Lesbian Books by the Guardian, &“Rosemary Manning&’s unjustly forgotten novel is a deft depiction of innocence and the forces of hypocrisy, paranoia, and self-hatred that betray innocence&” (Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers).

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