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 the story AND performance!

Great story! Awesome narrater! Kate Morton’s stories are always intriguing. Caroline Lee’s performance made this story vivid and alive in my imagination!

Very Enjoyable listen!

I really enjoyed the way the author wove the story together and the narration was spot on

Great mystery, which holds one's attention to the very end.

Loved the way the author gives just enough information in each chapter so that one can't wait to read the next to gather more clues. The mystery is not revealed until the last chapter. There are hero's and villains. Love the childrens stories within the story, which also give clues.

Better than expected!

Its not odd for me to become fully immersed in a story. But this one did something magical by drawing me in with nods to my own life - My surname, locations I have connections to, people that were described exactly as some I know today - paired with a great story! Every time I thought I had it figured out it shifted. Totally worth the listen.

Loving, Magical

Beautiful story of love, faithfulness, devotion, and the understanding of self. Just like the Wizard of Oz, home is usually so near we xantbsee it.

Long, but worth finishing

I love everything I've listened to by Kate Morton and I love Caroline Lee narrations. This book is so sweet even if I think it could have had a few chapters less. Worth the listen.

Complicated and beautiful, definitely not sweet

I loved this audiobook! It's now one of my favourites. The story was complex and was woven with fairytales, written by one of the main characters, and integral to the story. The narration was wonderful and the choreography of the audiobook added icing on the cake. I'm not a fan of clichés, but it fits here. In short, Cassandra fulfills her grandmother's quest to discover who she really is; her biological family and where she came from. It takes place in Australia and Cornwall, England. And, like all good stories, I missed it the moment it was done.

Sheer delight! It really comes alive.

Fantastic story with usual detail
There are no questions left unanswered. There are a few places where the pauses should be longer as it jumps to another timeline. It is confusing at times.

If you want a slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am experience then you are absolutely in the wrong isle

The complaints that the book “skips around” are patently ridiculous in my opinion. That’s a feature, not a bug. I mean for God’s sake, by that measuring stick Pulp Fiction “skips around.” The best analogy I’ve seen is that the book comes together like a puzzle. I have one very minor criticism about the retrieval of one of those pieces, one which required me to suspend disbelief to an extent that seemed unnecessary – in that I felt there were other ways to illicit the same information without requiring that suspension of disbelief – but it’s not a totally impossible scenario and by no means ruins the story. The ending also leaned ever so slightly too much into the realm of corniness for my own personal taste, but again was still good very good, and in fact was better than 90% – 95% of the endings to all the books I’ve read in my lifetime. (I am what Stephen King would label a “constant reader.”)
If you want a shorter book then by all means *don’t get a twenty hour book*. Again, for me that’s a feature instead of a bug. The book wasn’t even remotely slow to me. I just reread “It” and that book is exponentially slower than this. This is a well-written, deep-pulling, fully engrossing novel. If you want a slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am experience then you are absolutely in the wrong isle, but this is in no way a hard read and is extraordinarily easy to get into when compared to most popular fiction. It is a satisfying, consuming story, well told. It’s the first Kate Morton book I’ve read but it certainly won’t be the last. I’m thrilled to have found her.
One last thing: Caroline Lee is indeed a great narrator, and if you enjoy her narration I strongly suggest the Audible version of “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty.

I loved this book.

Complex in a really good way. Twists and turns and new information brought out at just the right time. Fabulous writer. It made me purchase another Kate Morton book immediately upon finishing this one.
I'm a fan.