Sally Bayley’s The Green Lady, written in the lyrical, playful style of her memoir Girl with Dove, blends novel and memoir to trace a child’s search for artistic education and identity. Inspired by female teachers, the artist J.M.W. Turner, and her grandmother Edna May Turner, Bayley explores the lives of women who pursued independence and creativity, including suffragist Mary Neal, actress Margaret Rutherford, and poet Stevie Smith. Echoing Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, the book reimagines biography as a means of creating space for artistic freedom. As a foster child, Bayley reflects on how homes and families can be found through art, literature, and nature.