The Fair Botanists: Could one rare plant hold the key to a thousand riches?

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I found that Elizabeth became a bit tedious. I wanted her to learn more from Belle in terms of being single minded and independent - which I know is not necessarily right for me, because as a gentle-woman of the time, she ought to have run a mile from Belle (as she very nearly does) and she certainly wouldn't have imitated her. I don't mean I wanted her to take up Belle's profession, but I wanted her to have a bit more of Belle's gumption. She'd had a horrible past, but I felt her ending was just a little bit too dependent on being saved rather than having her save herself. Again, I know that's not necessarily true to the era, so maybe I'm being unfair - but I find the more I like a book the more I am enjoying the characters, the more harshly I judge them. Now that is highly unfair, so let me say again here, I really like Sara Sheridan's female protagonists and I did enjoy this book very much. Evocative and sumptuously imagined. Not since Perfume has a book had such a strong sensory impact on me. A feast for the senses... I was intoxicated! Dazzling' Celia Reynolds

I have written lots of things from 1820, 1830 and 1840 – that is a period I know well," she says. "Although, normally, it is more about explorers and adventurers on a physical journey." I came across this in my local library. I was intrigued that the subject matter, although historical fiction, was set in 1822 and encompassed botany, mystery, women [as central characters] and real characters from history, especially those local to the Edinburgh area. Sara Sheridan is a writer and activist who is interested particularly in female history. She has written more than 20 books. Elizabeth Rocheid, meanwhile, is an English widow who has been taken in by her late husband’s family and brought to Edinburgh to look after an ageing relative, Lady Clementina. She accepts their invitation because she has nowhere else to go, but feels like an impostor among them as her marriage to their late cousin was not a happy one, and she is pleased to be free of him. Elizabeth is talented botanical illustrator and offers her services to James McNab who is overseeing the garden, which is next door to the Rocheid estate. When she goes to the lending library for a book, and is informed that Miss Brodie currently has it, the two women meet and form a fast friendship. Botanist and physician Robert Graham, the 6th Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, attempts to wangle an invite to the big royal soiree and makes some questionable life choices as the plot progresses.It’s the summer of 1822 and Edinburgh is abuzz with rumours of King George IV’s impending visit. In botanical circles, however, a different kind of excitement has gripped the city. In the newly-installed Botanic Garden, the Agave Americana plant looks set to flower – an event that only occurs once every few decades.

They are both very different, but great feminist characters. They've both faced adversity in their lives, yet they are able to use their circumstances to the best of their ability, and to overcome the difficult situations they've found themselves in. Set in Edinburgh during Some of the best botanical illustrators were women. You see this right through the Georgian era and into the Victorian era. There were quite a few around Edinburgh within those hundred years." Belle’s character in particular is a captivating one and I would have gratefully read more about her. What leads a courtesan to become interested in botany? How did she educate herself? What was the dynamic between her and her half-brother? Much of this is left to the imagination. So too are the many supporting characters, who all start to blend into one another – something which is not helped by the proliferation of Jameses and Jamies.

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Your novel is set in Enlightenment Edinburgh, a period of great change in the city. What drew you to this setting? Meanwhile Belle Brodie, a young woman who has a passion for both men and the dark arts of perfume is determined to take advantage of this rare bloom to create something she plans to sell for perhaps too high a price but only if she can secure something that is truly forbidden as she is learning that being a Courtesan cannot help her become elevated due to other people’s opinions of her... We have closed Reek now, but quite a bit of our stuff has been collected by the National Museum of Scotland and the Glasgow Women's Library," she says. "It was a big, interesting project and nice that they consider it important enough to collect. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, this pacey historical fiction brings together a number of characters all with one thing in common – their love of, or interest in, botany. The characters in The Fair Botanists are brilliant, especially the characters of Belle and Elizabeth.