An English Garden

“Fathers don’t live forever. One day, mine would be gone. The thought unsettled me—what would I be able to say about this man at his funeral? At forty, I knew little about the enigmatic figure who had given me life, except that some of his secrets lay hidden in England. It was time to cross the Channel and uncover them.”

An English Garden tells the story of this three-week journey through England. From Suffolk to Hampshire, passing through Bath, Oxford, and London, the narrator, his father, and their endearing Aunt Harriet travel the winding roads in a restless yet joyful search for their origins.

From Victorian houses to forgotten graveyards, from The Beatles to Shakespeare, through shared laughter, pub nights, and quiet moments of reflection, they turn the pages of their family history—tracing clues, unearthing tombstones and long-buried secrets, and giving faces to the ancestors resting beneath England’s cross-studded gardens.

A son’s quiet declaration of love to his father, an impressionistic portrait of timeless England, An English Garden is also a meditation on what it means to live, love, and let go.

Praise for Charles Wright:
“A book that is at once simple and yet profound — an ode to freedom that rings true and is uplifting.” Ouest-France