The Mudmaid
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
Written by longterm collaborator, Sandra Horn.
The Cluckett Press
The Mud Maid tells the poignant history of the gardens, based on the true story of how they were lost, then found again and restored after the First World War. The mysterious discovery of the gardens is told through the eyes of the mud maid lying there, based on the famous sculpture by Sue Hill. Some of the original artwork is available.
The Mud Maid lives happily, dancing in her Cornish gardens and teasing the gardeners in secret.
One day, she wakes to find she is all alone there
‘A noise like thunder filled the air and the sky was lit with an angry red light’
‘The gardens slept beneath a tangled blanket’ with the Mud Maid, hidden within while the gardeners were conscripted to fight
After decades, the gardens are discovered and the mud Maid dances and ‘breathes in the scent of peaches and vines’ once more in the glasshouses‘
‘Then she lay down on a pillow of soft green moss and smiled herself to sleep’
