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)

Another Winner from Kate Morton

If you have not read The Shifting Fog (The House at
Riverton) or this new one then you have two TREATS
in store. Kate Morton is a story teller extraordinaire and Caroline Lee adds the magic with
her superb narration. Dark family secrets,evil behavior,enthralling characters some of whom are damaged beyond repair are all uncovered as Nell struggles to find who she really is. If you like
storytelling as it used to be this one is for you!

A pleasant suprise

I purchased this because it was on sale for $4 and had good reviews, I am glad I happened across it. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. The story was a pleasure to listen to. I don't always go for mystery novels, but this one had me guessing from the beginning.

The best part of the story for me was the framing of original fairy tales through out the novel. They were all a pleasure to read and added just enough fantasy into the mix.

If you are on the fence about this one, it is well worth your credit.

Gratitude to listeners who recommended this book

Wow, such a wonderful story! I am so grateful to those reviewers who rated the book a 5 in contrast with the few who rated the book a 1. Without their comments I would have missed this enjoyable experience. I loved the nostalgic use of fairytale language to craft a modern day mystery. Certainly for those of us who grew up loving fairytales, but still grounded in adult realism to need a believable story. I loved the process of listening, I loved the narrator's voice and the magical way she could spin a tale, and I am so grateful to Audible for bringing the story to life.

Not my favorite at all

What a lot of horrible women! Those poor kids. Very convoluted. Seemed like same old plot.

Story for a "rainy day and warm fire"

Couldn't turn this audio book off .Can't stop and start with this one though, as it does take place during three different time periods and can be confusing. If you liked "Rebecca", or "The 13th Tale", you'll enjoy this one of Kate Mortons.

I loved this one!

A great story developed by going back and forth in time to discover the reason for a child's abandonment aboard a boat to Australia. The story is well written and executed. Also - very well read. I am hooked by Kate Morton's writing style and want to listen to more.

Sappy, but very good narration

"The Forgotten Garden" is a bit like a Hallmark or Lifetime mini-series, perhaps too much soap opera for my usual taste. Its meant to be a mystery, but I'm guessing that most readers, like myself, figure out the solution well before the half-way point.
However, it's reasonably well-written and makes a great beach read or lightweight reading if you're stuck in bed with the flu. The narration is quite good: Clear with good distinctive voices for the characters. (Though it's got silly music between the chapters...) I'd seek out the narrator again, and she's what has bumped my review to four stars.

Keep Up...

You have to realize that this book spans over centuries and have to realize who's talking when.. Once I paid attention to this part What a Pleasure! I enjoyed the book very, very much and didn't want it to end - - it's the kind you miss them when they're gone. The reader is perfect for the parts/book. Enjoy.

Good mystery

Any additional comments?

Good read with three coinciding story's of past, past, present. It could have been shorter and just as good. The narration was great.

Easy reading...

I did enjoy this book, but I???d say the best part was the last half. The beginning was good and plenty readable (or listenable), but as the plot went further back in time and uncovered more about the basis for the story and the mystery, it got a lot more suspenseful. By the end I really couldn???t stop listening, and I love it when that happens. I think the older part of the story, chronologically, was better plot-wise than the modern part of the plot. It had more depth and complexity to it than the modern story, and the characters seemed more interesting and almost magical or at least less mundane.

The author???s technique was to weave strands of the modern and the old story together and back and forth to keep the reader in suspense as the modern character, Cassandra, unravels the true story of her past. That technique worked well, but at some points it seemed a little overdone??? like there were just too many strands. The back and forth gave me a bit of reader???s whiplash. However, as I said, by the end I was just anxious to find everything out, so I didn???t care, and it wasn???t really very hard to follow. Along the way the author threw in various clues and quite a bit of foreshadowing. I could tell in advance who Nell???s mom was. There was a mysterious episode that foreshadowed this, AND it would NOT make for a very good ending to such a heroic search for her past to have the long-lost ancestor be the decoy person that the author threw in to try and throw the reader off.

The only character that I thought was not very well thought out was Cassandra???s mother, Leslie. I felt she was an extraneous plot device thrown in to take up historical time so that the plot could advance forward by one generation.

I liked the way the book made me think how little we may know about a person from the distant past when all we see are a few facts on a paper or a few of their possessions. It was really fun to see Cassandra???s ancestors come to life as the story wore on and more knowledge was gained about her past.