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The greatest garden parties in literature

Next in our summer escapes series, we're reading about literature's best garden parties. So, from John Cheever to Zadie Smith, we've selected six of our favourites.

From John Cheever to Zadie Smith, Katherine Mansfield to Lewis Carroll, plenty of writers have use garden parties to set scenes in their books. Eleanor Shakespeare/Penguin
From John Cheever to Zadie Smith, Katherine Mansfield to Lewis Carroll, plenty of writers have use garden parties to set scenes in their books. Image: Eleanor Shakespeare for Penguin

If you have a garden, chances are you've used it a lot over the past few months, given the record-breaking sunshine and the lockdown. Only, social distancing measures have left us unable to use our gardens for what they do best: throwing a banging outdoor party for our friends (or attending one, at least).

Nowadays, a garden party isn't just the clipped-lawns-and-finger-sandwiches type affair of old – unless you're lucky enough to be invited to one of the Queen's famous Buckingham Palace outdoor dos. You don't even need a string quartet; just a music speaker, a BBQ, paper cups, and drinks to put in them. And, of course, good friends.

 

From John Cheever to Zadie Smith, Katherine Mansfield to Lewis Carroll, here are six of our favourite garden parties in books to inspire you when the time comes.

The Sheridan's garden party

Bilbo Baggins' eleventy-first birthday party

The Bunkers' pool party

The Pageant at Pointz Hall

Kiki and Howard's anniversary party

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party

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