The care and cultivation of poisonous plants

Abstract

Set in London in 1932, The Care and Cultivation of Poisonous Plants is a historical crime novel centred on the murder of Cynthia Greenaway within the private residents' garden of St Mary's Square. While employing the framework of the traditional cosy mystery, the novel uses the enclosed community of the garden square to explore themes of female agency, trauma, identity, social control and belonging in the interwar period.

The communal garden functions as both setting and organising metaphor. Interwoven throughout the narrative are extracts from the writings of the gardener, Brandon McSweeney, whose observations on cultivation, decay, adaptation and renewal provide a commentary on the lives of the residents and the unfolding investigation. Through this structure, the novel examines the interconnectedness of individual lives and the ways in which personal choices, social expectations and historical forces shape human behaviour.

The narrative follows Gráinne Redman as she investigates a series of deaths linked to the square while confronting questions surrounding women's autonomy, reproductive rights and the gendered power structures of early twentieth-century Britain. The novel further engages with contemporary and historical debates surrounding eugenics, bodily autonomy and social conformity, exploring how individuals respond to trauma through resistance, accommodation or self-destruction.

By combining conventions of Golden Age detective fiction with literary historical fiction, The Care and Cultivation of Poisonous Plants contributes to traditions of female-authored crime writing while reimagining the role of the woman detective as both investigator and advocate. The novel serves as the first in a projected series examining transgressive roles for women and the limitations imposed upon them within twentieth-century society.