The Forgotten Garden
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 ten 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 twentieth 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.
Reviews for The House at Riverton (also known as The Shifting Fog):
“A stunning must-read story that’s set for stardom” ―Woman’s Day magazine
“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
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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 ten 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 twentieth 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.
Reviews for The House at Riverton (also known as The Shifting Fog):
“A stunning must-read story that’s set for stardom” ―Woman’s Day magazine
“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
Holly –
Another in a line of great books I have read this year
This is one of those books that I was aware of and interested in reading but just never seemed to get around to doing it. One of the members of my book group suggested it for our July selection and I was pleased since it gave me the push I needed to actually pick it up and get going. It is a large book (549 pages) which might appear daunting to some, but after finishing it myself I have to say it was well worth it.Covering three generations and over 100 years, there is a lot of material here for the reader but it’s so well done that I finished it in about five days even with lots going on at home. I found myself picking it up at every chance and when my daughter and her friend went to the pool, I was excited since I could sit on a lounge chair and get a few hours of uninterrupted time. The opening scene is of a little girl on a boat in London, hiding behind barrels to remain undetected until the woman who put her there can return. The year is 1913 and the ship sails without the woman coming back so the girl has to fend for herself along the ocean voyage ending up in Australia with nothing other than a small, white suitcase and what will fit inside. She has been given instructions not to reveal her name to anyone so when she is found, the mystery of who she is continues. The novel reveals the entire story of who she is, why she was placed on the boat and why the woman never came back to her.Skipping across many years, the reader switches back between the year 2005, 1913, and 1907. At the beginning, it was hard to keep track of the multiple characters, the multiple story lines and the threads that were beginning to weave them together. I would recommend that you don’t start the novel until you are able to devote some time to it – reading five or six pages one time and five or six pages later will only frustrate the reader and decrease the enjoyment of the book. Once you get going, you can read it in smaller chunks successfully.The story will keep you engrossed and the writing is so strong that it holds its own against the story’s strength. Character-driven with a strong sense of place (Cornwall in particular), anyone who enjoys a bit of suspense, a good story and beautiful writing will do well to give this novel a try. I will definitely be going back to read the author’s other novels based upon the strength of this one. Beautiful!
fra7299 –
Engaging historical mystery about putting the pieces of one’s family together
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun“And yet it mattered, it had mattered to Nell and it mattered now to Cassandra. That puzzle was her inheritance. More than that, it was her responsibility.”This book is a definite reminder that I need to read more works by Kate Morton. I remember reading The Secret Keeper about 10 years ago and enjoyed it, so I bought The Forgotten Garden and had it on the to-read shelf for a while. I’m glad I finally was able to read this one, and it has a lot of the same elements that made The Secret Keeper an enjoyable novel.The Forgotten Garden is set up like a puzzle of sorts. It begins with a young girl being left abandoned on a voyage in 1913. Mysteriously, she cannot recall who her parents are, but remembers someone named the Authoress.The novel spans three generations, so it covers quite a bit of ground. There is quite a bit of going back and forth between three different time periods, flashbacks, fast forwards, etc. Several narratives come together. One of the main themes is that of one family trying to put all the pieces of their ancestry together to form an identity. In the “current” times of the present, in 2005, Cassandra, granddaughter of Nell, is having to retrace the past to understand who Nell was, and also get a clearer picture of the family tree.I really like how Morton weaves these three timelines in such a cohesive and effortless way and so smoothly, and fuses in details and conflicts as we get more and more of the pieces of information about the past and present to help complete this puzzle. As Cassandra gets closer and closer to the truth, there are some uncomfortable realizations and eye-opening moments for her to take in.The Forgotten Garden is very pathos-driven and, at points, an emotional read. One could make the case that this novel is a tragedy, but then there are also some very poignant, uplifting and touching moments as well. I like how the author pulls us into this mystery and this family’s past. We come invested right along with the characters and want to see how everything pans out.I also like how Morton harkens back and pays homage to fairy tales and classics. In some ways, has some Dickens overtones in mood and ambience. There is a “story within the story” concept used to symbolize several aspects of their lives that feels a lot like a fairy tale or classic.In the end, I thought this a very engaging page turner that blends elements of historical fiction, mystery, drama, and Gothic and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
caseygirl –
I have just finished this book and I had to write my review immediately. It took me a while to read it certainly not because the book was boring but because of time constraints on my part. I am a hard reviewer simply because most of the books I read are just “ok”. This surpasses “ok” this book is amazing. Kate Morton is brilliant and I don’t mean brilliant in the way the British use the word, I mean incredibly clever to have put this story together. Reading it is like doing a jigsaw puzzle and you wonder sometimes if it will ever come together. But it does. It combines excellent writing and character adaptation with a great story mixed with some mystical fairy tales. I loved the book. I loved the characters. Everything works. The only criticism I would have is the flipping back and forth from the early 1900’s to the 1970’s to 2005. This only becomes a bit frustrating if you can’t sit down and read the book within a reasonable time frame. Unfortunately I had to keep going back to see who was who and what year we were reading about. This isn’t the authors fault, it was mine. I would say if you are going to read it make sure you have the time to read it within a week or so. Reading it I wondered why the author hadn’t put a family tree at the beginning but then I realized if she had done that, it would have given away a lot of the plotline. It is one of the very best books I have read in a long time. I have read all Kate Morton’s books and to me this is by far the very best. I am so looking forward to her next book. Kudos to Kate Morton!!!
mr a aragona –
Wonderfullly written book with an extraordinary, highly intriguing and addicting plot. Make me feel I cannot stop reading, trying to imagine what could be next. Highly suggested
Sheila Nascimento –
Já havia lido esse livro em português anos atrás. Gostei tanto que estou relendo, desta vez, em inglês.
Allie B –
I took a chance on this book based on reviews and bought it as a new paperback – it actually far exceeded my expectations. I won’t go into plot recall here as enough reviews have been written doing that by now so I will focus elsewhere.In this book Morton expertly evokes a vivid sense of place with a suspenseful plot AND detailed characterisation. This is no mean feat given the questionable writing standards with a lot of contemporary fiction. There are multiple character points of view and the action is set during various years from 1900 up to 2005 (the latter serves as ‘present day’ due to the book being quite old now) in Brisbane, London and Cornwall. It tends to change time period each chapter so it’s heavily non-linear and more so than the usual time-slip novel but it never gets confusing. We switch between Nell as a 4 year old; Nell as an adult researching her background to try to find more info about her parentage; Eliza who is the ‘authoress’ mentioned in the synopsis; Cassandra who is Nell’s grand daughter and continuing Nell’s search in present day; and other characters. Morton also weaves (fictional) extracts from reference books and newspaper accounts; plus her own invented fairy tales into the main narrative. The fairy tales are metaphors for what’s happening in the main tale or they foreshadow the action in some way.It’s clear that Morton has studied Gothic and Victorian novels academically. She draws heavily on Gothic and Sensation novel conventions – characters are ‘doubled’; there’s a non-linear narrative style; a few very sinister characters; and secrets/mysteries at the heart of an upper class family living at a remote house. I’ve seen some reviewers criticise the book on this basis i.e. that it has Gothic clichés – but that’s rather the point and is of course intentional on the part of the author. It reminds me of a melodramatic (in a good way) Wilkie Collins novel at various points. The writing style changes dependent on the era. For example it becomes Dickensian when set in London in 1900 (I know that is post-Dickens but still) – poverty, grime and ‘grotesque’ characters are all represented here.I’ve also seen some people complain that it’s overwritten but I disagree. The leisurely pace is a necessary part of Morton’s detailed world-building and rounded characterisation. She’s never waffling for no reason or to reach a word target – there are lush and evocative depictions of nature particularly in the Cornish setting and plenty of revealing dialogue. It’s worth having some patience with the first quarter of the novel (it picks up pace after that) as the main characters are so memorable that they stay with the reader long after the book has ended. I read it more quickly than I normally read a lengthy book as I found it such a page turner. I did guess the more important Mountrachet family secrets but it doesn’t take anything away from my experience.’The Forgotten Garden’ is a captivating, atmospheric and suspenseful book with many mysterious story threads intricately woven to create a beautiful tapestry in the reader’s mind. It’s already one of my favourite books – I will go on to read the other works by Morton starting with ‘The House at Riverton’. It’s always exciting to find a new contemporary author whose work you enjoy as it happens so rarely…at least to me!
kira –
Excellent roman, excellente histoire….qui m’a pris aux tripes !!!!Que dire…J’ai eu envie d’être là pour cette petite fille innocente, sans personne, sans passé…victime de sa famille, des adultes, de leurs égoismes, de leurs inconsciences….se retrouvant à l’autre bout du monde à attendre quelqu’un qui malheureusement ne viendra.J’ai été très touchée par l’histoire d’Eliza, Nell/Ivory et Cassandra.Mon coup de coeur 2019 !!