The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

This edition published 22nd May 2025 by Pan Macmillan.

Originally published 4th September 2008.

From the cover of the book:

Rediscover The Forgotten Garden, the breathtaking intergenerational mystery from the multimillion-copy bestseller, Kate Morton.

Three women. Three generations. One spellbinding mystery . . .

Once upon a time, a little girl was found abandoned after a gruelling sea voyage from England to Australia. She carried nothing with her but a small suitcase of clothes, an exquisite volume of fairy tales and the memory of a mysterious woman called the Authoress, who promised to look after her but then vanished.

Years later, Nell returns to England to uncover the truth about her identity. Her quest leads her to the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast, but its long-forgotten gardens hide secrets of their own.

Now, upon Nell’s death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance: an old book of dark fairy tales and a ramshackle cottage in Cornwall. It is here that she must finally solve the puzzle that has haunted her family for a century, embarking on a journey that blends past and present, myth and mystery, fact and fable . . .

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Brisbane, 2005. When Cassandra's beloved grandmother passes away, leaving her a surprise inheritance, she discovers that there are many secrets that Nell kept from her. With only an old suitcase, a mysterious book of dark fairy tales, and the deed of a cottage in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor in Cornwall, Cassandra sets off on a quest to unravel the puzzle of her family's past.

Kate's Morton's beloved bestseller, The Forgotten Garden, is now available with a gorgeous new paperback cover design. Essentially, this is a tale of three women from the same family (spanning four generations), from the turn of the twentieth century onwards. The many layered story unravels through three narratives, Eliza, Nell and Cassandra, shifting in time and place between Australia and England, to reveal secrets, tragedies, and complex family history.

The pace of the novel is gentle and meandering (though not without its dramas), with a sprawling cast of characters, and little pieces of the mystery that connects the women coming together across all three timelines. Morton spins her threads to encompass Cassandra's adventures in the present, alongside Nell's research into her foundling origins (having arrived on the shores of Australia with only a few possessions and no memory of how she came to there); and (eventually) the sad history of authoress Eliza's connection to the Mountrachet family of Blackhurst Manor in Cornwall. 

A lot happens over the course of the story, but this is really a character-led piece that delves into identity, and the way the consequences of the women's decisions ripple through time (particularly when it comes to the Victorian melodrama of Eliza's tale). Sacrifice, self-destruction, loss, betrayal, and abandonment are the focus, which means your emotions get a battering, but Morton does craft a lovely uplifting ending around the significance of the 'forgotten garden', with a heart-warming romance for Cassandra as the threads draw together - and I loved the magical realism aspect of the novel, which uses Eliza's fables to great effect.

As my first venture into Morton's novels, I was intrigued about the delights its whopping 650+ pages would hold, and can now see what it is that attracts millions to her storytelling. Perhaps a little on the slow side to get going, but definitely one to immerse yourself in. 

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this special edition paperback in return for an honest review.

About the author:

KATE MORTON is an award-winning, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author. Her novels - The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, The Lake House, The Clockmaker's Daughter and Homecoming - are published in over 45 countries, in 38 languages, and have all been number one bestsellers around the world.

Kate Morton grew up in the mountains of southeast Queensland and now lives with her family in London and Australia. She has degrees in dramatic art and English literature, and harboured dreams of joining the Royal Shakespeare Company until she realised that it was words she loved more than performing. Kate still feels a pang of longing each time she goes to the theatre and the house lights dim.