A Botanical Daughter

Description

In a secluded Victorian botanical garden, two gentlemen—hiding their relationship from the prying eyes of London—pursue their private passions in glasshouse quiet. When one of them becomes captivated by a mysterious fungus, he pushes beyond the boundaries of horticulture, attempting to create true intelligent life from plant matter, with consequences that quickly escape any control or containment. Blending the lush dread of gothic horror with the moral unease of Frankenstein and the sharp wit of Oscar Wilde, the story turns on questions of ambition, consent, and what it means to cultivate life—or be cultivated in return. As the experiment named Chloe grows, so do the costs of secrecy, jealousy, and the fragile line between wonder and exploitation. With queer tenderness and a sly, inventive voice, this debut delivers a warm-yet-bloody meditation on family, identity, and the living power of the natural world.

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