Kirkus describes this novel as 'weighty' and 'at times unwieldy.' The plot is described as 'intricate' with 'intersecting narratives' and 'heavy-handed fairy-tale symbolism.' Major themes and subject tags for this novel include: abandoned children, Australia, country homes, England, Cornwall, Inheritance and succession.

In the end it is Cassandra, haunted by her own griefs, who in 2005 follows in Nell's footsteps to finish the journey of discovery and fit together all the missing pieces.

However, her plans to complete the quest are interrupted when her granddaughter Cassandra comes to stay 'temporarily,' a stay that becomes permanent. She discovers her true identity despite having been thought dead for more than 60 years, and finds her way to Tregenna, and Blackhurst Manor, on the coast of Cornwall. In 1975, the only surviving clues to Nell's past are given to her after her father's death the memories they trigger lead her to travel to England to unravel the puzzle, part of which is connected to the author of a rare fairytale book in her possession. The knowledge shatters her self-image and changes the course of her life. While paying homage to Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden and the Gothic novel, Morton's second work explores living with and overcoming loss - of trust, of identity, or of loved ones - and was inspired by Morton's own family history.Īt Nell's joyous 21st birthday party her world falls apart when her father tells her she was adopted as a 4-year-old in 1913, seemingly abandoned on an Australian wharf and unable to remember her name. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.The Forgotten Garden is a 2008 novel written by Australian author Kate Morton, driven by the mystery of why a 4-year-old child is found abandoned on an Australian wharf in 1913. 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. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. 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. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book-a beautiful volume of fairy tales. A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The House at Riverton, a novel that takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through generations and across continents as two women try to uncover their family's secret past.

The forgotten garden review