The fire spreads too quickly, and Elizabeth hurts Victoria while trying to get her to safety. Victoria starts a fire, planning to frame Catherine and cement the rift between the two sisters. Elizabeth seeks to help Catherine, making Victoria feel alienated and betrayed.

When Elizabeth tries to reconcile with both Victoria and Catherine, her nephew Grant asks her to stop, outlining his mother’s decline into a dementia-like illness. Elizabeth struggles with her estrangement from her sister, Catherine, which occurred after Catherine had an affair with Elizabeth’s lover.Įlizabeth misses a court date which would have allowed her to adopt Victoria, and the latter is crushed. This language is based on Victorian Era codes, with each flower having a secret meaning it allowed friends and lovers to send messages to each other without detection. Elizabeth works hard to make Victoria feel at ease, homeschooling and teaching her the language of flowers. In the past, Victoria struggles to believe Elizabeth’s affection for her is genuine after having lived in more than 30 other foster homes. The novel then splits into two distinct timelines: the past, detailing a 10-year-old Victoria’s experience living with a wine grape farmer named Elizabeth, and the present. Instead of finding a job, Victoria spends the next several weeks growing flowers in makeshift planters and is eventually evicted for not paying rent. Victoria Jones, ward of the state, turns 18 and is taken to a halfway house by her caseworker, Meredith. This guide is based on the Ballantine Books Trade paperback edition (2012).Ĭontent Warning: The Language of Flowers contains depictions of child abuse.

The language of flowers novel