The Secrets of Flowers by Sally Page
Emma is a university research scientist. A year ago, her husband Will died from a heart attack, and she is devastated. She then decides to resign from her academic job and take up a position as a florist in a local garden centre. The owners, Betty and Les, take her under their wing. But when Les delivers a talk on the “Secrets of the Titanic”, Emma decides to undertake some research on the florist of the Titanic. Her research brings her to talk to many people and to many places including Paris, but she is captivated by a Titanic stewardess called Violet who she feels a strong connection with.
Violet spent her early childhood in Argentina where she developed a love of flowers. During a serious illness where she was expected to die, her doctor wheeled her bed out to the garden so she could smell the flowers. Amazingly, Violet recovered but a short time later, her father died. Her Irish mother was then forced to move back to London with Violet and her siblings. Her mother took a job as a stewardess on the trans-Atlantic Ocean liners but she found the work too physically demanding. By then, Violet was old enough to work and she followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a stewardess with the White Star Line. Violet’s love of flowers was soon discovered by the Purser, and she ended up arranging flowers on the Titanic. She was lucky enough to get into one of the Titanic’s lifeboats and survived the sinking of the ship.
The Secrets of Flowers is an easy book to read and the character descriptions are wholesome. The author, Sally Page, has also written another wonderful book called The Book of Beginnings which I would also recommend. Her youngest daughter is Libby Page who has written The Lido and other books.
Submitted by Lynda
