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)

Enjoyable Listen

I really enjoyed this book. Caroline Lee did a great job narrating as well. The book easily flows between three different time periods - this is not easy to do and many authors don't do it well.

GREAT TWISTS AND TURNS

Where does The Forgotten Garden rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of top books. Would listen to or read more than once. Seldom do I find a book that merits that action as I have little time in which to repeat anything.

What did you like best about this story?

Foundations of each character well established in an attention-gripping way.

If you could rename The Forgotten Garden, what would you call it?

"Memories and Twists of Three Generations"

Any additional comments?

First of Kate Morton's writings I have read and have already gotten more for future reading and/or listening. Not many authors have made me immediately follow with another novel written by them.

Superbe

Great story , beautiful reading. Love all of her books but this is my favorite. Caroline Lee is amazing as well.

Spellbinding

A definite Keeper.Well done.Kept me engaged and interested.I will be listening to this again and again.

My favorite so far

I've read a couple of her books and this has been my favorite. This one held my attention throughout the story. Very talented writer.

A lot of flipping

Back and forth among generations, but the story gets woven together very masterfully. Would be perfect to listen to on a commute, like a soap opera.

Excellent Read

Wow,, what an enthralling story. Well written and the narration is very well done. I thought at the first time that she starts that time change that it was going to be hard to keep track of all the coming and going of the different story lines, but Miss Morton was able to transition effortlessly,and the story line was easy to follow.I really enjoyed this book

A wonderful companion to have in my ears

I found this well written with several wonderful little phrases and sentences. The story was very pleasant and a relief from some of the challenging reality reading I've been doing lately.

A beautiful story, joyously read

Having only recently joined ancestry online to try to find answers to the mystery of my fathers early years, I flushed with curiosity and with irony, when I realised that this novel was about an unravelling of Nell's life, by her granddaughter , Cassandra.

Not only that, to then discover that the author is an Australian and that the story is woven in part in Queensland, well, I was taken in, hook, line and sinker.

Caroline Lee gave voice to this tragic, moving story, her characters sketched as finely as those by Nathan, husband of Rose as he illustrated Elisa's fairy tails.

The story is so entwined, so rich with mystery, each chapter shedding a little more light, adding colour bit by bit until, at the end the story of Nell's life is finally understood and she is free and at last 'home'.

A beautifully written tale about a family mystery

Would you consider the audio edition of The Forgotten Garden to be better than the print version?

I haven't read it but the audio addition was fantastic

What other book might you compare The Forgotten Garden to and why?

Jane Eyre as it takes many twists and turns and reveals family secrets along the way

Which character – as performed by Caroline Lee – was your favorite?

Cassandra

If you could rename The Forgotten Garden, what would you call it?

The lost girl

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this thoroughly it was an intriguing and addictive listen