The Forgotten Garden

By: Kate Morton

Narrated by: Caroline Lee

Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A foundling, an old book of dark fairy tales, a secret garden, a maze, an aristocratic family, a love denied, a mystery - The Forgotten Garden is a captivating, atmospheric, and a compulsive listen about the past, ghosts, family, and memories from best-selling author Kate Morton.

Thirty-eight year old Cassandra is lost, alone, and grieving. Her much loved grandmother, Nell, has just died and Cassandra, her life already shaken by a tragic accident 10 years ago, feels like she has lost everything known and dear to her.

But an unexpected and mysterious bequest from Nell turns Cassandra's life upside down and ends up challenging everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. Inheriting a book of dark and intriguing fairytales written by Eliza Makepeace Rutherford - the Victorian authoress who disappeared mysteriously in the early 20th century - as well as a cliff-top cottage on the other side of the world, Cassandra takes her courage in both hands to follow in the footsteps of Nell, on a quest to find out the truth about their history, their family and their past; little knowing that in the process, she will also discover a new life for herself.

©2008 Kate Morton (P)2008 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"This debut page-turner...recounts the crumbling of a prominent British family as seen through the eyes of one of its servants....Morton triumphs with a riveting plot, a touching but tense love story and a haunting ending." ( Publishers Weekly)

LOVED!!!!

I didn't want it to end!!! I enjoyed every bit of the story and highly recommend it to all!

It’s A Formula - But One That Works For Me!

What a lovely story! I just love Kate Morton, she is a true story-teller; actually come to think of it, I think her style is more like “weaving tales” as opposed to just “telling stories”.

I found that this book was very very very comparable in style to “The Distant Hours”- one can pick out about a billion similarities, but I wasn’t turned off by that because it was just different enough to be interesting on its own.

The plot was unrushed yet sufficiently suspenseful to keep me going. Just when you think you’ve foreseen the result of one event, she twists it around and surprises you with a different outcome. I liked that because it kept me guessing and left me unsure about my future plot predictions.

I have to admit that I did get confused at times about who was narrating because the stories overlap so intricately. I’d sometimes have to stop and start a chapter over to confirm who’s story we were following now? Was it Eliza in the 1900s or was it Nell in 1975 or was it Cassandra in 2005?

In the end, it was a great time spent listening – I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely a fan.

Great Story

What made the experience of listening to The Forgotten Garden the most enjoyable?

The story is told in a way that through the entire book, you are never sure what will happen next and each page unfolds in a way that keeps the reader intrigued.

What did you like best about this story?

Same as above.

Any additional comments?

I've recommended this book to several people who loved it as much as I did.

Hopeful

Although melancholy seemingly permeates in many of the characters and plot lines, I didn't feel that emotion at all when listening. Even in the conclusion, though you wish life would've been happier for Eliza, there's hope that sadness and regret will be forever put aside in the lives of Casandra and Christian....and new life given to the secret garden.
The fairy tales were a wonderful touch to a beautifully written novel & the beauty of Eliza's spirit lives on in them. The performance gave just the right tone.

The Forgotten Garden

This is one of the best books I've listened to in a long time. Loved it!

one of the best books I've read this year

Mystery, romance and history. A grand estate, a crumbling cottage, an abandoned garden. An authoress, a changeling, a grieving woman trying to move on. This book is full of poignancy and grace. Completely absorbing, beautifully visual and perfectly narrated, this was indeed one of the best books I've read this year, and has made me a slavish devotee of Kate Morton. Absolutely loved it and can't wait to read another of her books!

Oh my goodness!

Best book ever! Absolutely could not wait to jump in my car and listen! Great narration, characters - what an imagination by the author! I am sure that the things that are in this book really happened back in the early 1900s. People were so proper and stressed about their good name and reputation, that they would do almost anything to protect it. I was sad when the story ended and I hope there is a sequel !

a classic

I've listened to this 6 or 7 times. beautifully written with exquisite narration. in fact, I've listened to all of Kate Morton's books countless times. they're like comfort food for the soul.

Adoption Mystery; Very Pleasant Listen

The narrator, Caroline Lee, has a lovely storytelling voice. This book was very pleasant to just sit and listen and absorb the lives of the characters. I was completely engaged from start to finish. If you're interested in genealogy, this is a great book for you.
The book gives bits and pieces of 4 generations, allowing you to slowly piece together the mystery of why a child was abandoned and who her parents were. The year is clearly announced at the beginning of the chapter so make sure you take note of that. I didn't have a hard time following and don't be alarmed if you don't have all the characters down right away, the character development is very gradual.
This story is a mystery, although Kate Morton goes into such great detail of each event (sometimes twice from different points of view) that some of the mystery is a bit predictable, although it's still very engaging and suspenseful.

quite near epic for one family

the first 3 or 4 chapters almost had me ready to return as i just could not catch the story, partly because i was busily occupied, but expect a catchiness most the time. Then it hit and i was thoroughly occupied w/ the story from then on to the last note! The main good characters i grew to love and understand. At Eliza' s eventual demise, i felt like the Kathy Bates character in "Misery" wanting Kate Morton to rewrite the story to keep Eliza. Eliza is a study in being true to your inner person and not conforming to social norms. In this, i love stories of resistance to evil, and there is enough evil in this story to die in resistance a thousand deaths. Amazing knowledge of period nuiance which Caroline's exceptional timing highlights perfectly! The mysteries of the 3 time periods are just always beyond reach reminding me of the stories of the brilliant Madeleine Brent. Will definately follow Kate and Caroline. Brilliant writing and reading! thx