Lily the Tiller: Captivating and uplifting new novel highlights the healing power of community.

‘Lily the Tiller grew up a nomad and had no education to speak of, but what she knew from flowers was wondersome.’

Deborah McKinlay’s new novel, Lily the Tiller, is a whimsical tale about a West Country English lass with a self-taught talent for horticulture. The eponymous Lily scours the countryside looking for temporary gardening work and we meet her as she pitches up at Motthoe – a dilapidated, but once grand, country estate. Lily proceeds to work her quirky brand of magic on a patch of Motthoe’s grounds and all of its inhabitants’ hearts, not least that of reluctant owner, ‘Dreamer Harry’.

Written in a lyrical style, Lily the Tiller is a feel-good story with a delightful setting, passages of pure comedy and plenty of pretty plant talk, but the ominous undertones of Lily’s bleak past add a weightier element and, in the end, the reader is as engaged in her flight to freedom as she is. This is a book that is rich in humanity by an accomplished author and it delights from its very first page.

Deborah McKinlay is an experienced magazine contributor and the author of two previous novels: ‘The View From Here’ and ‘That Part Was True’. She writes full-time from her home in the West Country.

“McKinlay's hand is sure around the restless rich.” Publishers Weekly

“Completely charmed by this gentle, thoroughly engaging debut.” Woman and Home.

“I was reluctant to tear myself away.” Stylist Magazine