Where the Sea Lavender Grows: A Novel

A woman restoring a historic cottage on the English coast uncovers a startling connection to the past in a haunting and bittersweet novel about art, loss, and love by the author of Closest Kept.

Elise, an artist grieving the loss of her son and a fracturing marriage, is in North Norfolk to restore Marsh House to its former glory, its walls adorned with the fading murals and paintings of its long-ago owner, Lilias Carter-Brown. Elise makes an immediate connection to the house, to Sam—a carpenter and a comfort—and to history itself when an old photograph draws Elise into Lilias’s heartbreaking past.

In 1939, with war threatening, Lilias and her sister turn Marsh House into a sanctuary for London evacuees—a young boy and his mother. But it’s the boy’s father, Harry, an enlistee soon to report for duty, with whom Lilias forms an unexpected and intimate bond. When Harry suddenly vanishes without a trace, it changes the course of Lilias’s life forever.

Now, as Elise and Sam work to solve the mystery of the disappearance, the restoration of Marsh House is bringing Elise back to life as well—to love again, to put her and Lilias’s pasts to rest, and to finally move on.

Kitty Johnson is an awarding-winning writer of emotional stories about empowerment and living your best life. She lives in Norwich, Norfolk in the UK, with her partner and teenage son. Her novel Five Winters was recently awarded the Star Award 2024 by the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

A nature lover, Kitty enjoys walking in the local woods and by the sea in Norfolk with her dog. Also an artist, she paints and makes collages in her studio when she has time. Kitty enjoys a challenge and once performed stand-up comedy as research for a book - an experience she found very scary but hugely empowering. Kitty has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and has also published as Margaret K Johnson.

“A beautiful narrative about loss, moving forward, and a mother’s love. Readers of both WWII-era and contemporary fiction will enjoy this sensitive portrayal of grief and reckoning with the sins of the past.” —Booklist

“Rich with wartime history and meticulously detailed, Kitty Johnson’s Where the Sea Lavender Grows is a beautifully written novel that captures the resilience of women across generations. It’s an exquisite story of art, loss, and the quiet magic of second chances that readers are sure to love.” —Jane Healey, bestselling author of The Women of Arlington Hall

“A warm, touching, and engaging story about love and family and the choices we make. I loved its glorious Norfolk background and its wartime dimension. A lovely read.” —Rachel Hore, million-copy bestselling author

“Kitty Johnson’s lyrical novel, Where the Sea Lavender Grows, explores grief and heartache and the redemptive powers of love in equal measure. Flipping seamlessly between World War II and present day, it is the story of two strong women, Elise in present day, and Lilias in 1939 —and their connection with the Marsh House in Norfolk, England. A moving and ultimately uplifting story perfect for book clubs!” —Anita Abriel, international bestselling author of American Housewife