What secrets lie buried in the forgotten garden. (The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton)

Member Name: thehonesttruth

Product:	The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton
Date:	20/04/09 (107 review reads)
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Recently I ran out of books to read, so as I often do when my own bookshelves fail me, I head to my mums house and raid her shelves for something interesting . I came home with a bagful of books, including this one .

This is Kate Morton's second novel, her first being The House at Riverton. I haven't read that, but it seemed to get some good praise, including being mentioned by Richard and Judy .

The Forgotten Garden works along three seperate personal timelines :

In 1913, a young girl is found alone on the docks after a gruelling voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember is that a woman called the Authoress was supposed to be looking after her, but the Authoress has dissapeared without a trace. She is clutching a suitcase.

Later, in 1975, the girl, now an old lady named Nell, is given the suitcase after the death of her father . Its contents lead her to a beautiful cornish estate, Blackhurst Manor, once owned by a noble family. But what ties does she have with this family, and can she find herself ?

In 2005 ,Nells grandaughter is surprised to learn she's been left a cottage in the grounds of a cornish estate . But why ? Her grandmother seemed to think she's understand the importance, but can she get anyone to tel her the secrets of the house and the family that once lived there.

I found the book very enjoyable, the way the book subtly shifted between characters, and changed your perception of the same character several times . For example, the character of Rose Mountrachet inititially tugged on my heartstrings, then later I despised her .

Some of the characters went very deep right at the start - for example, Eliza was a very strong character - imaginative, tomboyish, defiant of convention. Other characters started off very shallow - such as Cassandra, and gradually revealed more of themselves as the story evolved .

Theres some great description here - I could almost picture the mists swirling through the streets of early 20th century London, the sea crashing against the Cornish coastline . I could almost hear the accent of an old sailor as he talked about 'Piskies'. The author also demonstrates clear local knowledge of Cornwall, with mention for example of typically Cornish dishes
such as Morgy broth .

Part of the joy of the story is that it is scattered with some sweet little childrens tales (in the book , they're written by one of the characters) which present a nice little break from unravelling the mystery, while simultaneously providing hidden clues .

I did feel some chapters of the book could have been left out - for instance, at one point she seems to be taking the character of Uncle Linus in a new and sinister direction . Maybe this is an intentional false lead, but either way I feel certain chapters added nothing .

With that said, I enjoyed the book . The plot was sufficiently twisty and turny to have me changing my minds every few minutes about how it would all unfold , it had some brilliant description, and characters I could really get behind .

I borrowed my copy from my mum , but the jacket price is 7.99 . I;m sure amazon and such like will also stock it, so shop around for a bargain. Its definately a great read , and I'd recommend it .

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