In 1911, in the Scottish Border village of Sproutston, the young parish minister wrote to the "Daily Mail" for two entry forms, one for himself and one for his wife. The top prize was #1000, a small fortune in those days, and the organizers predicted that as many as 15,000 would enter. The minister could not foretell that the paper's estimate of the number of competitors would be more than doubled, or that a fortnight before the competition deadline, a nationwide drought would threaten the very existence of the sweet peas he was so painstakingly cultivating. This is a true story about real people. This edition is being published to tie-in with the "Daily Mail"'s revival of their competition to find the finest bunch of sweet peas in the country which is judged at the Hampton Court Flower Show in July. The book is available on audio cassette read by Dame Judi Dench.
- ISBN10 086241539X
- ISBN13 9780862415396
- Publish Date 2 March 1995 (first published 12 May 1988)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 28 July 2008
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Canongate Books Ltd
- Edition New edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 64
- Language English