In Edeana Malcolm’s Letters from the Gardener passion and jealousy ignite as Susan and John Dean as friendships, both new and old, add pressure to their marriage, and the bonds of love they forged to long ago begin to splinter. With each chapter framed by letters, enter into the world of the Dean family, as they continue to fight for their love and their family. The third of four novels in The Compleat Gardener series.
In Edeana Malcolm’s The Gardener’s Wife happily ever after is not always the end of the story. After the events of The Serpentine Garden Path Susan Kirke has finally married the gardener she loves, but love can only go so far. In an effort to make ends meet, the pair will have to endure more than they ever could have expected. The second of four novels in The Compleat Gardener series.
Edeana Malcolm’s novel The Loyalist explores the journeys of her ancestors as told from the perspective of her four times great-grandfather Michael Eisan and his third wife Sarah Lawrence as they transverse the trials of war, love, family, and marriage. A historical fiction based upon Malcolm’s own ancestry, this novel centers around many moments in our own history, opening the reader’s eye to the differing perspectives of our past.
Edeana Malcolm’s The Serpentine Garden Path draws you into the era of 18th century England romance, as heroine Susan Kirke is torn between two worlds: the proper English woman she was raised to be or following her heart into forbidden love, danger, and adventure unlike anything she’s ever experienced. The first of four novels in The Compleat Gardener series.
Edeana Malcolm’s A Garden in the Wilderness is the final installment of the Deans’ journey as they make their new home in Nova Scotia. As both Susan and John struggle to adapt to their new surroundings, amending their skills to best suit their new home and family of ten, this novel is a testament to love, family, death, and survival. The last installment in The Compleat Gardener series.
Edeana Malcolm’s The Book of Elisheva, though a glimpse into the first-century life of a Jewish woman, takes the reader on a journey of pain, anger, religion, and self-discovery. This novel speaks to the human condition both in the span of the novel, and in modern day, as oppression , religious fanaticism, rule by tyrants, and the marginalization of women continue to our shame. A historical fiction novel that transverses the past of both women and religion, with enticing parallels to our own world.
Edeana Malcolm’s House of Crows follows the lives of three women as their journeys weave together, telling of the history of Victoria, women, and the challenges that they have faced throughout history. Grandmother, mother, and daughter forge a path of infinite possibility for those who come after, while reminding the reader of those who’ve come before us. A historical fiction novel that takes the reader on a journey of the women of our past, and as such brings hope of the great potential of the women who have come after.
“When I read a book, I want to be taken away to another world, but I want to learn something too.” – Edeana Malcolm
When I was a child, I was a prolific reader. I read every novel I could get my hands on. It was an epiphany to discover that writing is what my life’s work would be. After moving back to my hometown of Victoria fourteen years ago, I decided to start writing seriously, working towards my dream of creating a novel that until this point I had been too busy to accomplish. By far my favourite activity is writing well-researched historical fiction, and after playing with points of view from different cultures I found inspiration within the tales of my own ancestors.
Thus began my first series of novels, The Compleat Gardener, set in the eighteenth century. The four novels tell the story of my ancestors John and Susan Dean and their odyssey from England, to Scotland, to Ireland, and finally, to Nova Scotia. Originally, I intended it to be a trilogy, however at the request of a publisher, who was interested but only published books set in Canada, I immediately stopped what I was doing and wrote A Garden in the Wilderness about the Deans’ first year in Nova Scotia. I self-published the first three novels following its release, after which I wrote The Loyalist about a different ancestor, Michael Eisan, who came to Nova Scotia by way of Germany, London, and South Carolina. Then, to let off steam during a stressful period in my life, I wrote The Book of Elisheva, told from the point of view of John the Baptist’s mother. More recently, I have begun to write the stories of women who have settled on the West Coast. My latest book House of Crows is the fictional account of three generations of women whose stories are braided together telling of the many hardships they endured and their dreams for a better future.
I have been blessed with ancestors who have fascinating stories that need to be told, and, since this is fiction, I get to add my own spin and pump it up just that little bit more. In addition to my written work, I am the President of Victoria Writers’ Society, and I encourage all interested writers, or those interested in writing, to join us at www.victoriawriters.ca .