Chinese Garden

A "e;very intelligent, sensitive, and compelling"e; 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 "e;wonderful"e; 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, "e;Rosemary Manning's unjustly forgotten novel is a deft depiction of innocence and the forces of hypocrisy, paranoia, and self-hatred that betray innocence"e; (Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers).