I am a sucker for a good fairy tale. The words of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm speckle my childhood and influence me even today. I believe it was Friedrich Schiller who said, “Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my childhood than in the truth that is taught by life”, and I couldn’t agree more.
So when one of my dearest friends recommended I read The Forgotten Garden, I was intrigued. She described it as “a fairy tale for adults” and said that once I started reading it, it’s near impossible to put down. As is the case with most BFF’s, she was absolutely right.
I read through the first 100 pages without even blinking an eye. I was instantly connected to the characters, the story, the magic of this tale of self-discovery and awakening. The Forgotten Garden tugged at all of my emotions, telling three very different tales about three very different women who are all connected in one unbelievable way.
The book begins when 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.
The Forgotten Garden is a spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery that will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
Looking for a new book to read? Check in every Friday for a “Bee Happy” post, where I share reviews of books I’ve read or other book-themed lists.
The Hob-bee Hive 