The Forgotten Garden: Book summary and reviews of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

The Forgotten Garden Summary

A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to trace her story, to find her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family.

But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. At Cliff Cottage, on the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, Cassandra discovers the forgotten garden of the book's title and is able to unlock the secrets of the beautiful book of fairy tales.

The Forgotten Garden Reviews

"Both books reveal Morton as an author in supreme control of her material, and she delivers again, right on target, with another atmospheric historical saga shot through with mystery and secrets, grand passions and tragic woes...like the maze in the forgotten garden of the title, it's a delicious book to become lost in." - The Sunday Mail.

"A compelling, richly layered mystery..." – The Australian Women's Weekly magazine.

"This is a novel of a writer who is really getting into her stride. The magical opening of The Forgotten Garden launches us into a complex and richly textured world. Morton skillfully interweaves the different periods in which the novel is set, maintaining pace throughout. She gradually strips away layers of mystery, leaving a nice twist to the end...A beautifully written and satisfying novel." - Daily Express.

"Perfect for a long afternoon in a deck chair." - Gloss Magazine.

"[S]immers with secrets and strangeness" - Good Housekeeping.

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The Forgotten Garden Reader Reviews

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Rated of 5 by Loli
Magnífico !!!
I have enjoyed it, is very well narrated and it hooks to you from the beginning. I recommend it

Rated of 5 by Linda Stimpson
The Forgotten Garden
This has to be one of the most enjoyable books I have read. I love that it covers several generations even though at times it is a little hard to follow. I didn't want to put it down but on the other hand I didn't want it to end. Great book for a Book Club. It is a book you want to own to re-read again on a cold winter's day.

Rated of 5 by elizabeth brown
the forgotten garden garden
I am almost half way though and having difficulty keeping up with all the people. I am losing interest and may not finish the book. Has anyone else who has read the book had that problem? It started out good but got confusing and I am not caring about the characters anymore. Could it just be me, or is it the book?

Rated of 5 by Lisa-ButteryBooks
I Read It Twice..And It Was Better The Second Time
I chose this book when it was my turn to host our book club party. I decided to read it again since it had been a couple months since the first time I read it and I wanted the details fresh in my mind. It is even better the second time!! That is saying a lot considering how much I loved it the first time. Kate Morton's writing is fantastic and so descriptive I felt like I was right there with the characters. It is long, but I still did not want it to end. I highly, highly recommend it, especially for a book club.

Rated of 5 by Dorothy T.
A Great Novel
I read and enjoyed Kate Morton's first novel, "The House at Riverton," and was interested to read her next one. "The Forgotten Garden" far surpassed my expectations. The journey in and out of three time periods, each with a different central character--though each connected to the others in a way that continues to be revealed until the very end--is easy to follow, and the switches add to the suspense and my reluctance to put this book down until I finished. The weaving of the fairy tales into the main story is very effective, and there's even a little bit of Dickens (Charles and Frances Hogsdon Burnett's both).

Rated of 5 by Eileen Ubillos
A Wonderful Read
This book has everything, catapulting the reader from the early 1900s to the present in a back and forth way that is very clever, never confusing, although I do have to pause now and then to get the people straight. I loved the characters, the plot, the thrill of reading something hard to put down, and not wanting to end. We have a Booktalk at the Largo FL Library once a month and the facilitator cautiously chose this book last month wondering if it would be too confusing for us to swallow. Not at all. Now I can't wait to read her first novel. Beautifully done, really!!

...3 more reader reviews

Kate Morton Author Biography

Kate Morton is the eldest of three sisters. She was born in South Australia and moved with her family numerous times before settling, finally, on Tamborine Mountain. There she attended a tiny country school and spent much of her childhood inventing and playing games of make-believe with her sisters.

Kate fell avidly in love with books very early. Her favorites were those by Enid Blyton, and Kate escaped many times up the Faraway Tree or with the Famous Five into smugglers' cove. It was a love deeply felt, for it is still mysteries and secrets that dance around the edges of Kate's mind, keeping her awake deep into the night, turning or typing pages.

When she finished school, Kate studied and earned a Licentiate in Speech and Drama from Trinity College London. After...

... Full Biography
Author Interview

Other books by Kate Morton at BookBrowse