‘A garden is a time capsule, as well as a portal out of time.’

In her compelling new work of non-fiction The Garden Against Time, Olivia Laing brings to life her own slice of paradise: the restoration of a garden designed by Mark Rumary of Notcutts. Alongside her own endeavours, Olivia explores the idea of paradise and gardens, real and imagined, through the work of Derek Jarman, W.G. Sebald, John Milton, John Clare, William Morris and many others. She considers how gardens are political and how these slices of Eden survive war, offer a place for rebel outposts and communal utopias, and and bring joy during difficult times.

Simply one of our most exciting writers’ – The Observer. Olivia is a widely acclaimed author and critic. She is the author of seven books including The Lonely City, The Trip to Echo Spring, Everybody: A Book About Freedom and Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency. Her first novel, Crudo, was a Sunday Times bestseller and won the 2019 James Tait Memorial Prize. In 2018 she was awarded a Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction and has written extensively about writers, art and creativity, including essays and forewords on Virginia Woolf, David Wojnarowicz, Cookie Mueller, Chantal Joffe and Wolfgang Tillmans.

Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.