The Garden: A Novel by Clare Beams

"The Garden" is a haunting exploration of pregnancy as a haunted house and the policing of the female body. Set in 1948, Irene Willard, desperate to give her husband a child, seeks treatment at an isolated Berkshires hospital. Run by a husband-and-wife team pioneering a cure for her condition, Irene becomes ensnared in their efforts to rectify her maternal environment. As she discovers a long-forgotten walled garden on the grounds, imbued with its own powers, Irene and her fellow patients make a desperate bid to harness its potential. With shades of Shirley Jackson and "Rosemary's Baby," the novel delves into themes of motherhood, childbirth, and the historical control of the female body. Irene's journey unfolds against the backdrop of crumbling plans and unforeseen risks, illuminating the complexities of female agency and the primal forces at play in the creation of life. "The Garden" offers a masterful blend of gothic atmosphere and psychological depth, inviting readers to confront the eerie and unsettling aspects of pregnancy while grappling with timeless questions of power, control, and the mysteries of the human experience.