Life in the Garden

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Stephanie Cole

Penelope Lively

Sian Preece

Eilidh McCreadie

Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively: Reality and Metaphor

Reality and Metaphor

Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively

BBC Radio 4 - Life in the Garden by Penelope Lively, Reality and Metaphor

Penelope Lively's memoir of her life in gardens is read by Stephanie Cole.

4 Extra Debut. Penelope Lively's memoir explores the metaphorical garden, from Eden to Monet's water lilies at Giverny. Read by Stephanie Cole.

From the Garden of Eden to Monet's water lilies at Giverny - Penelope Lively considers the metaphorical garden.

Stephanie Cole begins this intimate meditation on gardening, literature and creativity. 

Penelope Lively has always been a keen gardener. This book is partly a memoir of her own life in gardens: the large garden at home in Cairo where she spent most of her childhood, her Oxfordshire garden and the smaller urban garden in the North London home she lives in today. 

In this intimate and eloquent work of narrative non-fiction, one of the UK's most cherished and admired writers uses the garden to break open the world for us, and examines how we might encourage our lives to bloom.

Abridged by Siân Preece

Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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