It is quite cheeky and has a lot of detail in it," says Sheridan. "But she [editor Emma Herdman] really liked the narrative voice and that dry sense of humour. It is a little bit reminiscent of some female writers of that era, like Jane Austen or Mary Brunton." But as Elizabeth and Belle are about to discover, secrets don't last long in this Enlightenment city. And when revealed, they can carry the greatest of consequences . . .

Belle is determined to keep both her real identity and the reason for her interest the Garden secret from her new friend. But as Elizabeth and Belle are about to discover, secrets don’t last long in this Enlightenment city . . . As I am fond of Scotland, the 19th century, historical fiction and - why not? - flowers and perfumes, how could I not enjoy Sara Sheridan’s latest novel? There are three very strong women in this story. Elizabeth, who is newly widowed (and somewhat relieved to be), who has come to Edinburgh to make a new life dependent upon a relative. Clementina is her dead husband's aunt, an outlandish (I love that word) woman who her nephew wishes to keep hidden away, outspoken and overtly political. And then there's Belle, a sex worker of noble birth who uses her profession to fund her ambition to make a love potion. Each become bound together by a rare agave that is about to flower for the first and only time in thirty years, in the newly-formed Botanic Gardens - at least the location is new. It's the summer of 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV's impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly-installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower - an event which only occurs once in several decades. I found that Elizabeth became a bit tedious. I wanted her to learn more from Belle in terms of being single minded and independent - which I know is not necessarily right for me, because as a gentle-woman of the time, she ought to have run a mile from Belle (as she very nearly does) and she certainly wouldn't have imitated her. I don't mean I wanted her to take up Belle's profession, but I wanted her to have a bit more of Belle's gumption. She'd had a horrible past, but I felt her ending was just a little bit too dependent on being saved rather than having her save herself. Again, I know that's not necessarily true to the era, so maybe I'm being unfair - but I find the more I like a book the more I am enjoying the characters, the more harshly I judge them. Now that is highly unfair, so let me say again here, I really like Sara Sheridan's female protagonists and I did enjoy this book very much.

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The pace of this book is excellent and held well throughout the book – even with the more exciting goings on that occur later on. It’s doesn’t trample on ahead at a rate of knots so you get lost in the plot, but equally it isn’t slow and difficult to get through. It didn’t take very long for the paths of the characters to cross – which is something I like in a book where there are many characters and stories. I always find them much richer when they are integrated and play out together, rather than being read separately and eventually coming together towards the end. Both are fascinated by the imminent blooming of the century plant; the Agave Americana, which blooms only once before it dies. The women become instant friends, but Belle’s secretive habits and real identity and Elizabeth’s longing to know more set them on a collision course. Will their friendship survive?

When she’s there, she becomes involved in the work of William McNab, the gardener in charge of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens, who is also caring for a North American aloe plant that is due to seed for the first time in a century. She also meets Belle, a woman who has her own interest in the aloe, and Johann, a young German man helping to organise the impending visit to the city by King George IV. With spirits high in the city, Elizabeth realises that some of the people interested in the blooming of the rare plant have more than scientific interest on their minds. I would start every chapter hoping (praying) that this chapter would be different, something would happen to grab my interest and pull me in, but this never happened, I would be bored again after one sentence. Author Sara Sheridan has set her new book The Fair Botanists in 1822. The story centres on the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Picture: Aleksandra Modrzejewska Seeing them close up in the gallery was like meeting these women, who exist in my imagination, in real life. It’s an honour that they engaged the imagination of such a talented artist.”Botanist and physician Robert Graham, the 6th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, attempts to wangle an invite to the big royal soiree and makes some questionable life choices as the plot progresses. This really added to the feel of the story and made me feel much more immersed and absorbed while reading.

Belle is determined to keep both her real identity and the reason for her interest the Garden secret from her new friend. They are both very different, but great feminist characters. They've both faced adversity in their lives, yet they are able to use their circumstances to the best of their ability, and to overcome the difficult situations they've found themselves in.As rare and lush as the Agave flower itself, The Fair Botanists is a richly realised, transportive delight’ Rachel Rhys This is based on a real-life event, which took place between 1820 and 1823, when the garden's many plants, bushes, flowering shrubs, aloes and cacti were transported to its current location. This was such a brilliant book to sit and read, I found a fabulous story that does have historical facts and of course there is the botanical part of the story. I thought this made fascinating reading as did the section at the end where the author gives more details as to her characters. Those who were real and for these, she did give a little more detail. Author Sara said: “‘I love Sophie’s work – she is an artist who truly makes magic. I was blown away when she decided to paint Belle and Elizabeth, and she has captured them so beautifully. Belle is very flirtatious – you can see that straight away – and Elizabeth is both vulnerable and haughty. I love both paintings.

They had an amazing collection," says Sheridan. "McNab moved thousands upon thousands of plants – it was phenomenal. This was the heyday of botanical exploration around the world that we were coming into with the expansion of the British Empire. Evocative and sumptuously imagined. Not since Perfume has a book had such a strong sensory impact on me. A feast for the senses... I was intoxicated! Dazzling' Celia ReynoldsSummer, 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours that the King himself George IV could be making a visit which everyone cannot stop talking about, despite the fact his majesty has a tendency to have changes of heart at the flip of a coin but that won’t stop the people from getting excited! One of the rare plants, the Agave Americana, looks set to flower, an event which only occurs once every few decades, and Elizabeth agrees to use her artistic talent to record the impending bloom. While recording the flower she meets Belle Brodie, a young single woman who has a passion for botany and perfume making, who realised at an early age that she had the gift of luring men by using the enchantment of scent and has turned her passion into a lucrative business. The unlikely friendship between the two ladies with very different ideas about life and love form the main plot of Sara Sheridan’s latest novel, The Fair Botanists.