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The Forgotten Garden
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The Forgotten Garden (2008) (edit title/settings)

by Kate Morton (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

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 has disappeared without a trace. A terrible secret: On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell Andrews... read more

Summary edit see section history

1913
On the eve of the First World War a little girl is found abandoned after a grueling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that a mysterious woman she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

1913
On the eve of the First World War a little girl is found abandoned after a grueling ocean voyage from England to Australia. All she can remember of the journey is that a mysterious woman she calls the Authoress had promised to look after her. But the Authoress has vanished without a trace.

1975
Now an old lady, Nell travels to England to discover the truth about her parentage. Her quest leads her to Cornwall, and to a beautiful estate called the Blackhurst Manor, which had been owned by the Montrachet family. What had prompted Nell's journey after all these years?

2005
On Nell's death her granddaughter, Cassandra, comes into a surprise inheritance. Cliff Cottage, in the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, is notorious amongst the locals for the secrets it holds - secrets about the doomed Montrachet family. But it is at Cliff Cottage, abandoned for years, and in its forgotten garden, that Cassandra will uncover the truth about the family and why young Nell was abandoned all those decades ago.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Clara: Mary's daughter.
  • Christian Blake: Michael's brother and employee to whom Cassandra is attracted.
  • Michael Blake: Landscaper contracted by Cassandra to clear a fallen tree which had fallen through the roof of Cliff Cottage.
  • Julia Bennett: Current owner of Blackhurst Manor and with her husband now runs it as a hotel.
  • William "Gump" Martin: Robyn's 90 year old grandfather who tells Nell the early history of the Mountrachets. He knew Eliza years before.
  • Robyn Jameson: Henry's wife and local historian in Tregenna.
  • Henry Jameson: Tregenna attorney who has held the key to the Cliff Cottage for Nell.
  • Ruby Davies: Gardener and maze keeper for the Blackhurst Estate.
  • Mary Martin: Maid at the Blackhurst Manor who lives with her parents in the village.
  • Mr. Henry Mansell: Detective that Eliza's mother warned her about. He was employed by Eliza's uncle to find and retrieve her. Known to Eliza as the "Bad Man."
  • Thomas R. Collins: Steward for the Blackhurst Estate
  • Phineas Newton: Coachman for the Mountrachets
  • Graham "Grey" Westerman: Ruby's boyfriend
  • Ivory Mountrachet: A protagonist and one of three characters through whom the story is told. She was found as a young child by Hugh and Lil and raised as their own beloved daughter. As an adult she is Leslie's mother and Cassandra's grandmother.
  • Elizabeth (Eliza) Makepeace: A protagonist and one of three characters through whom the story is told. She was known as the Authoress by the young Nell before Australia. She was a teller, and later writer, of fairy tales. Daughter of Georgiana Mountrachet & Jonathen Makepeace. Twin sister of Sammy Makepeace.
  • Cassandra Ryan: A protagonist and one of three characters through whom the story is told. Nell's granddaughter who is living and works with Nell at the novel's beginning.
  • Rose Elisabeth Mountrachet: Eliza's cousin. A very delicate and frail young lady.
  • Nathaniel Walker: An American painter.
  • Georgiana Mountrachet: Eliza's mother known as Poupée by Linus, her brother. Disgraced the family by running off with a sailor. Family felt she was marrying way beneath her station in life.
  • Adeline Mountrachet: Rose's mother. Nasty, jealous, petty woman who tries to control everything around her.
  • Linus Mountrachet: Adeline's husband, Rose's father and Georgiana's brother. He was the reason that Eliza comes to Blackhurst Manor.
  • Mary Walker: Servant at Blackhurst Manor. Plays a significant role in the latter part of the book.
  • Mrs. Swindell: The Dickensian woman Eliza and Sammy come to live with in London.
  • Sammy Makepeace: Eliza's twin brother
  • Phyllis: Nell's stepsister, the one closest to her age.
  • Dot: Nell's stepsister.
  • Lesley: Nell's daughter and also Cassandra's mother.
  • Nicholas: Add a description of this character.
  • Christian Blake: Young man that is found in the story in two time periods. First we meet him from Nell's recount when he is a 11 and she first purchases the cottage in 1975. Then we meet him and an assistant to the gardener of Blackhurst when they come to remove a tree that has crashed into the cottage once Cassie takes over the place in 2005.
  • Lil: Nell's "adopted" mother
  • Hugh: The dock master who discovered an amnesic Nell on the pier as a child and "adopted" her as his own.
  • Ben: Friend of Nell and Cassandra; antique dealer and former attorney. He drafted Nell's will leaving her entire estate to Cassandra.
  • Mr. Snelgrove: Antiquarian bookseller and expert on fairy tale writers
  • Ruby: Ben's daughter who lives in London. She works in a museum that is featuring sketches of Nathaniel Walker's. Very cheery and perky lady that becomes a fast friend to Cassandra.
Show all 34 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “'With a strong enough will, even the weak can wield great power.'”
    Georgiana Mountrachet
  • “Learn to rescue yourself: never rely on anyone else.”
  • “You make a life out of what you have: not what you're missing.”
  • “An irony that a place (the hospital) relying so heavily on routine should operate so resolutely outside time's usual routine.”
    Cassandra
  • “Memory is a cruel mistress with whom we all must learn to dance.”
  • “It's a gift, don't you reckon, to be able to look forward and not back?”
    Christian
  • “"You must learn to know the difference between tales and the truth, my Liza, she would say. Fairy tales have a habit of ending too soon. They never show what happens afterwards when the prince and princess ride off the page."”
  • “"You'll beat this. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you will. You're a survivor." "I don't want to survive it." "I know that, too," Nell had said. "And it's fair enough. But sometimes we don't have a choice..."”
  • “"The prospect of an early death sits differently upon each person. In some it gifts maturity far outweighing their age and experience: calm acceptance blossoms into a beautiful nature and soft countenance. In others, however, it leads to the formation of a tiny ice flint in their heart. Ice that, though at times concealed, never properly melts.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

The novel essentially occurs during the years 1913, 1975 and 2005 in Australia and the Cornish coast of England.
  • London: Where Nell was abandoned as a young girl and returns to visit Mr. Snelgrove's Antiquarian Bookshop to seek information regarding Eliza Makepeace
  • Cliff Cottage: Eliza's residence on Blackhurst Manor as an adult, purchased by Nell, and bequeathed to Cassandra in Nell's will.
  • Blackhurst Manor: Mountrachet home in the early 20th century and now a hotel.
  • Blackhurst Estate: Mountrachet estate located near Tregena, Cornwall
  • Tate Gallery: A London gallery exhibiting Nathanial Walker's portraits which provides Nell some clues into her English past.
  • 35 Battlesea Church Road: The address for Mr. and Mrs. Swindell's rag and bottle shop along side the Thames River in London where Liza and Sammy rented a oversize closet.
  • Paddington, Australia: Nell returned to Australia and purchased the Paddington house in 1961 after her husband died. Paddington is a suburb of Sydney.
  • Brisbane, Australia: Where Nell was raised by a dockmaster and his wife and the site of her death.

First Sentence edit see section history

It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she'd been told.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Part One:
One -London 1913
Two-Brisbane 1930
Three-Brisbane 2005
Four-Brisbane 2005
Five-Brisbane 1976
Six- Maryborough 1913
Seven-Brisbane 2005
Eight- Brisbane 1975
Nine-Maryborough 1914
Ten-Brisbane 2005
Eleven- The Indian Ocean, Nine Hundred miles Beyond the Cape of Good Hope, 1913
Twelve- Over the Indian Ocean 2005
The Crone's Eyes-by Eliza makepeace
Thirteen- London 1975
Fourteen-London 1900
Fifteen-London 2005
Sixteen-London 1900
Seventeen-London 2005
Eighteen-London 1975
Nineteen-London 2005
Twenty-London 1900

Part Two
Twenty-One: The Road to Cornwall, 1900
Twenty-Two: Cornwall, 2005
Twenty-Three: Blackhurst Manor, 1990
Twenty-Four: Cliff Cottage, 2005
Twenty-Five: Tregenna, 1975
Twenty-Six: Blackhurst Manor, 1900
Twenty-Seven: Tregenna, 1975
Twenty-Eight: Blackhurst Manor, 1990
Twenty-Nine: The Blackhurst Hotel, 2005
Thirty: Blackhurst Mnaor, 1907
The Changeling-by Eliza Makepeace
Thirty-One: Blackhurst Manor, 1907
Thirty-Two: Cliff Cottage, 2005
Thirty-Three:Tregenna 1975
Thirty-Four: New York and Tregenna, 1907
Thirty-Five:The Blackhurts Hotel, 2005
Thirty-Six:Pilchard Cottage, 1975

Part Three
Thirty-Seven:Blackhurst Manor, 1907
Thirty-Eight:Cliff Cottage, 2005
Thirty-Nine:Blackhurst Manor, 1909
Forty: Tregenna, 2005
Forty-One:Cliff Cottage, 1975
Forty-Two: Blackhurst Manor, 1913
Forty-Three:Cliff Cottage, 2005
Forty-Four:Tregenna, 1975
The Golden Egg-by Eliza Makepeace
Forty-Five:Cliff Cottage, 1913
Forty-Six:Polperro, 2005
Forty-Seven:Brisbane, 1976
Forty-Eight:Blackhurst Manor, 1913
Forty-Nine: Cliff Cottage, 2005
Fifty: Blackhurst Manor, 1913
Fifty-One:Cliff Cottage, 2005
Epilogue: Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane, 2005

Glossary edit see section history

  • mangle: A mangle (as it is called in the United Kingdom) or wringer (as it is called in the United States) is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and, in its home version, powered by a hand crank or electrically. While the appliance was originally used to wring water from wet laundry, today mangles are used to press or flatten sheets, tablecloths, kitchen towels, or clothing and other laundry.
  • fossick: Australian: To search for by or as if by rummaging.
  • poupée: French for doll.
  • cuppa: British: informal: a cup of tea
  • hydatids: A parasitic disease affecting mainly animals, but having a stage in humans; tapeworm

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Identity: Eliza, Cassandra, and Nell are all searching to understand who they are and where they fit in the world.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Kate Morton (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Country: Australia
Publication Date: 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4165-5054-9
Page Count: 560

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PR9619.4.M74 F67 2010
  • Dewey: 823.92

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Distant Hours
  • The House at Riverton
  • The Thirteenth Tale

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