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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).
—Anthony Burgess
"Manning is a sensitive writer. She has not only a fine ear for prose but a fine eye for character. She has succeeded in creating . . . the world of the adolescent [searching for] an 'inner order behind a chaotic and unlovely existence.'"
—The New York Times Book Review
"Rosemary Manning's unjustly forgotten novel is a deft depiction of innocence and the forces of hypocrisy, paranoia, and self-hatred that betray innocence. It deserves to rank among the very best of the early- and mid-twentieth-century portrayals of girls' school love such as Olivia and Mädchen in Uniform. Thank you, Feminist Press, for making this gem of a story available once again!"
—Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers
"Rosemary Manning writes with subtlety, intelligence, control, and great respect for words. . . . The Chinese Garden offers something of the misty, undefined evil that pervades The Turn of the Screw."
—The New York Herald Tribune