"Manning is a sensitive writer. She has not only a fine ear for prose but a fine eye for character. She has succeeded in creating . . . the world of the adolescent [searching for] an 'inner order behind a chaotic and unlovely existence.'"
— The New York Times Book Review

"Rosemary Manning's unjustly forgotten novel is a deft depiction of innocence and the forces of hypocrisy, paranoia, and self-hatred that betray innocence. It deserves to rank among the very best of the early- and mid-twentieth-century portrayals of girls' school love such as Olivia and Mädchen in Uniform. Thank you, Feminist Press, for making this gem of a story available once again!"
— Lillian Faderman, author of Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers

"Rosemary Manning writes with subtlety, intelligence, control, and great respect for words. . . . The Chinese Garden offers something of the misty, undefined evil that pervades The Turn of the Screw ."
— The New York Herald Tribune