The Daisy Chain, by Al Campbell

The book is set in England in 1771 and is a historical fiction tale about botany, art, scientific discovery, exploration, trade and the politics of the time. The MC is a talented painter of flowers, and her talents are noticed by the director of Kew gardens, and soon after also by royalty. Despite her newfound success and new connections, dangerous people try to take advantage of her, and she must work out who she can trust.

How accessible is it?

The author himself has dyslexia and has really thought a lot about how to make it better for neuro-diverse readers. The sentences are short, there is a lot of dialogue, and the font has been chosen carefully. Although it is an accessible book, it is not patronising at all - there were plenty of period-appropriate words that I had to look up (I didn’t mind this as I love learning new words!). This book began as a film script, and sometimes reads a bit like a play as it is in the present tense & the third person.

I would like to thank the author for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!