The real-life plant hunters of the Victorian era, those intrepid explorers who scoured far-flung places for exotic blooms, are the inspiration for TL (Thomas) Mogford’s cracking yarn. This is Mogford’s debut historical novel following his series of Gibraltar-set crime thrillers, and his hero ventures much further afield here, journeying from London to Shanghai and up the Yangtze River.
That youthful explorer is Harry Compton, a successful salesman at a grand emporium on Chelsea’s King’s Road. But he knows that the real money – and fame – comes from sourcing rare specimens, and, following a surprise bequest, he finds himself on the trail of the legendary icicle tree.
In many ways, Mogford’s colourful and propulsive romp is a pleasing adventure story throwback: Indiana Jones meets H Rider Haggard or Robert Louis Stevenson, plus the odd cutting from Tulip Fever. Compton follows an actual “x marks the spot” treasure map and is pursued by all manner of rogues, including botanical rivals, thieves and pirates.
However, there’s also a contemporary moral lens applied to this imperial tale. As Compton learns about his country’s part in the Opium Wars and witnesses the devastating effect of the drug, he begins to experience colonial guilt and question his own actions in removing China’s native plants for profit. It’s laid on rather thick, though, and accentuates the character’s improbable naïveté.
Thankfully his travel companions are more knowledgeable, and interestingly complex, including a young widow testing her newfound independence. But her bog-standard, supposedly sexually charged bickering with Compton is less budding romance, more wilting cliché.
Nevertheless this is a riveting page-turner, rich with fascinating period detail. Mogford conjures the 19th-century tools of the trade, like the miraculous vasculum – essentially a transportable greenhouse – as well as a time when the world was full of discoveries for those who dared seek them.
The Plant Hunter is published by Welbeck at £12.99. To order your copy call 0844 871 1514 or visit the Telegraph Bookshop
