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The Forgotten Garden

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The Forgotten Garden

By: Kate Morton
Narrated by: Anna Skellern
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Summary

A lost child: On the eve of the first world war, a little girl is found abandoned on a ship to Australia. A mysterious woman called the Authoress had promised to look after her – but the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret: On the night of her 21st birthday, Nell O'Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.

A mysterious inheritance: On Nell's death, her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious among the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold – secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

2009, Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA), Winner

2009, Indie Next Pick, Winner

©2008 Kate Morton (P)2023 Bolinda Publishing 20th Century Coming of Age Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Mystery Romance Women's Fiction World Literature Fiction

Critic Reviews

‘[A] dark, suspenseful feast for history-lovers.' (Sunday Telegraph)
'The Forgotten Garden simmers with secrets and strangeness.' (Good Housekeeping)

‘A compelling, richly layered mystery.' (Australian Women’s Weekly)
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This book was perfect for my nighttime listening but soon made its way into my daytime listening too. I liked how the different chapters were different eras of time and the narrator was amazing

Great story & narration

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All of Kate Morton's stories are wonderful and this is no exception. However the narration spoiled it for me. Although Anna Skellern's accent, tone and modulation are lovely, there were issues. There were a couple of common usage words mispronounced, but much worse was the emphasis on the wrong words. Editors please listen to see if you agree. IMO the narration should be redone.
EDIT So, to my surprise there IS another version of this book, on this site, narrated by Caroline Lee. Reviews of this version are very good, so I will re-invest in this version and try again. Question - why have two versions?

Great story, irritating narration.

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This story is fantastic, I realised from early on that I had to pay attention and I occasionally had to rewind a bit when my mind wandered because the story timeline jumps around from generation to generation which was good once I was used to it. Their were so many twists and turns and surprises that kept me interested. Do yourself a favour and listen to this book. 👍👍👍

What a story-Mesmerising

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I love Kate Morton and have read many of her books but I was disappointed in this one because it was so obvious what had happened from about half way through. No twists.

Not my favourite Kate Morton book

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Difficult to keep track of without clear chapters but well worth the read. A lovely story

Very long

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