The Hermiting Manual by Millon de Floss

Title: The Hermiting Manual 

Author: Millon de Floss 

Publisher: not known, but several editions 

Source book: The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #7)

To be honest, it’s not entirely clear if Millon de Floss, prolific author, professional stalker, and now official hermit at Thursday Next and Landen Parke-Laine’s country estate, is the author of The Hermiting Manual or merely a commentator on the art of modern hermiting. But he is known to have approved a quote from the second edition of the Manual as “intelligent-sounding stuff to spout”. 

It really was a very strange fashion, maybe more of a fad, to employ a hermit to live in your garden. See Wikipedia for more information. Or alternatively read Snuff by Terry Pratchett in which Commander Vimes discovers to his surprise that he employs a hermit. See also Caro.

Roses in my garden photographed by me