Book 46 of 50: The Forgotten Garden
Book 46 of 50
Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Gothic
Summary (from Amazon.com): A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book-a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
Comments: I absolutely LOVED this book. It really was just beautifully written, in my opinion. The book weaves together the stories of three primary characters-- Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra. Chapters tell a segment of each woman's story taking place at different points of time. Once you get used to how the story switches back and forth between narrators, it is easy to following along. The book is incredibly descriptive, and it was easy to picture the three women in their setting. As the story progresses, it did become pretty easy to guess most of the story and figure out the mystery, although there were a few unexpected turns. The book is somewhat gothic (dark themes, large architecture, overgrown gardens, madness, gloom). Although it doesn't technically have any supernatural elements, there are elements of fairy, as one of the characters is an author of fairy tales, which feature as a prominent plot point. Overall, I just really enjoyed imagining these generations of women, trying to figure out how their lives are connected and how those lives are connected to the setting, as well as this garden and maze on the grounds of the manor. I actually listened to the book, and I really enjoyed the narrator's accents, and I think her beautiful narration contributed a great deal to the story. I'd recommend the book to anyone who likes historical or gothic fiction, a la Wuthering Heights, The Secret Garden, or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
x-posted to 50bookchallenge
Title: The Forgotten Garden
Author: Kate Morton
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Gothic
Summary (from Amazon.com): A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book-a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
Comments: I absolutely LOVED this book. It really was just beautifully written, in my opinion. The book weaves together the stories of three primary characters-- Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra. Chapters tell a segment of each woman's story taking place at different points of time. Once you get used to how the story switches back and forth between narrators, it is easy to following along. The book is incredibly descriptive, and it was easy to picture the three women in their setting. As the story progresses, it did become pretty easy to guess most of the story and figure out the mystery, although there were a few unexpected turns. The book is somewhat gothic (dark themes, large architecture, overgrown gardens, madness, gloom). Although it doesn't technically have any supernatural elements, there are elements of fairy, as one of the characters is an author of fairy tales, which feature as a prominent plot point. Overall, I just really enjoyed imagining these generations of women, trying to figure out how their lives are connected and how those lives are connected to the setting, as well as this garden and maze on the grounds of the manor. I actually listened to the book, and I really enjoyed the narrator's accents, and I think her beautiful narration contributed a great deal to the story. I'd recommend the book to anyone who likes historical or gothic fiction, a la Wuthering Heights, The Secret Garden, or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
x-posted to 50bookchallenge