Araminta Humble, better known as Minty, is preoccupied by the mysterious door she’s discovered in the lane – it looks ordinary enough but it draws her. And, try as she might, she just cannot capture it on paper. She has recently discovered that she has a gift – she can draw. This is a tremendous relief, for all of her family are gifted and she was starting to think she was the only untalented one. Father Jan writes poetry, mother Coriander is a herbalist, Aunt Tilly is a cook beyond reckoning, and Grandfather is an inventor. Until recently the family were caretakers at the Old House near Little Trumpington, but now they own the house and money is much more tight. They decide to create a sign for the front gate, advertising their talents and illustrated by Minty, and to take in a lodger.
Through the sign the Humble’s make the acquaintance of Little Liza and her mother Big Liza the wise, Daniel the Slow (the only member of a family of tightrope walkers who can’t), and lodgers Hubert the poacher and Grimsby, the retired circus lion.
This book, a sequel to Beyond the Blue Hills (which I now have to track down through abe.com), was a beloved volume on my childhood library. It is magically descriptive, evocative of an English countryside in summer, and a true product of its era – it was written in 1974. There is vivid description, magical happenings, a villain (circus master Jasper Pickett), self-sacrifice, and the scent of honeysuckle. I haven’t read A Lion in the Garden for over twenty years, but it was like coming home, the feeling that only well-loved books can evoke. – Alex
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