This month (March 2020) we read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.
This page is where book club participants can share their thoughts on the book. The following are the comments already received via email and reproduced below. (It includes a link to a video I made that includes my lengthy comments on the book and scoring report.)
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Joan said: Just finished reading The Forgotten Garden and was sorry to see it end because it kept me turning the pages and staying up late . I must say the way it was written though was not easy to keep the characters straight and it was necessary to read it almost every day or you lost the thread of it. Never figured Eliza for the pregnant one and the reason she was made no sense to me. Felt like an old Grimes fairy tale that was read to me as a child with scared pictures and all. Too bad we can’t discuss this, so much hidden meanings and plots. I give it an 85.
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Judy said: Starr and I finished the book on CD and the book. There were too many characters and I didn’t like the bouncing back and forth time periods. It wasn’t my type of mystery. I’d rate it at 70
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Selena said: I have mixed feelings about The Forgotten Garden. On the one hand, I felt it was way too long and rambling with too much detail in the back stories. But on the other hand, the “mystery” (a category I sincerely question) created enough curiosity to make me continue reading—albeit with a lot of scanning. The device of alternating the characters’ histories was occasionally confusing to me and definitely interrupted the flow of the story. I tend to not like that device (except perhaps in Connelly’s Bosch and Ballard books).
I constantly wondered why this book was considered a mystery. Certainly there is an unsolved question at its core, but that question is not different from “mysteries” or confusions that appear in many fiction books. To me, The Forgotten Garden is not a mystery in the same category as most of the books we read for the Mystery Book Club, and as a normal fiction book, I would never have read it. Indeed, I almost put it down several times.
I figured out who Nell’s mother was long before the book revealed it, and although I did not know what ultimately happened to Eliza until the end, I did not like the unraveling of the “mystery.” The writing style was okay but nothing special and as with its “mystery,” not much different than other run of the mill fiction books.
So on the whole, I would have to say I lean toward not liking the book and give it a rating of 80.
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Dick said: After reading the book I began investigating some of the historical events and geographic locations in the book. I made a video with maps, photos, and commentary – ending with my score, and how I came up with that score. It’s 55 minutes long but I think (hope) you’ll have fun watching it! Click to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/e7dPiHHZ4Bs
Among other things: It’s REAL! – “Cliff Cottage”
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Joanne said: The initial mystery of the who’s and how’s of Ivory’s/Nell’s solo journey took far too long to answer. I felt as though I was reading 3 books at the same time, and found the time traveling tiring. The prose was pleasing, and there was some humor. So well-described was the Blackhurst property, that I think I could even navigate the maze.
Maybe I have quarantine crankiness, but I found this book to be slow and, at times, tedious. And more than a little depressing.
My score: 78
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Rachael said: I was glad to finally get the chance to read The Forgotten Garden because I have always heard that Kate Morton’s books were an enjoyable read. Though this book isn’t much like the traditional murder mysteries that we are used to, I did enjoy the journey to discovering this particular mystery in this particular book. I thought the author did a great job with the settings, her writing style, and I did like her character Cassandra and her journey to finding out the truth about her family’s past. While I normally don’t mind multi-generational stories if done well, the jumping characters and time periods were distracting at times. And some of the character’s actions were a bit unrealistic to me (ex. Nell’s reaction to finding out she was adopted and abandoning her planned out life). But I can see people liking this book if they enjoy mysteries but want to leave out the murder part!
I give the book an 89.
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Your turn! Please add to the above….
Please use the “Leave a Reply” area, AKA comments area, below to:
• If you have not already done so, add your thoughts about and reaction to the book, AND report your score (including reasons for your score) …and/or…
• Add comments about what the six members said above, or what other members may say below! (About as close to “discussion” as we can get this month.) …and/or…
• At minimum, check in, even if you didn’t read the book! Ask a question of those that did, maybe?
Also, please: (1) Make sure to use your name so we know who is commenting! (2) Check back in a few days to see what others may have said after you wrote your comment!
If I hadn’t been ‘social distancing’ , am not sure that I would have continued reading this very non traditional mystery ~It was a good read, well written and I enjoyed the characters ~ rather ‘fairy tale like’ at times.Demanded your attention to keep the characters straight and storyline as well. Glad I don’t have a tree growing through my roof ~ LOL~
Grade ~ 90~ We certainly have covered a variety of ‘mystery books’ this year ~ Looking forward to a ‘Connelly’ type mystery soon ~
Be well and safe ~ ^_^
from Lois–for those who remember me from past meetings–I do miss then library meetings but can not manage that at the moment;–on to the comments–I was delighted to note that everyone had the same troubles as I with the back & forth style year to year with various characters and venues–hard to keep the story lines straight–I was sorely tempted to go thru, noting the years and just read the chapters from each of the years–thought that might have made it easier–but did not do that after all. I found myself always trying to match fairy tales to Grimm and other fairy story tellers–seemed her versions always had a very sound basis in other such stories. On the whole tho I did enjoy her story and must say I was not always abler to predict the next relationships and various actions. Rose’s mother posed a rather horrid picture of a “concerned” mother and I found some of her actions to be hateful–her husband, who seemed to dote on his sister (Eliza’s mother, Georgianna) seemed to live a life devoted to memories of his little doll–not a good character to make such a lifetime obsession–to my way of mg thinking, Linus was the reason all lives there were so distorted – his attachment to the sister made the entire story go the way it died–he hired the detective to find her–her relations and bring them back to him—did that in the beginning and in the end when he gets back a dead Eliza–the daughter of his doted-on Georgiana–his unnatural obsessions seems to be the basis for all the lives being so poorly lived.
I will end here with a score of 80–prose well-written, settings well described and the so-called mystery finally uncovered and settled in good fashion. Linus and wife the villains of the bp[iece.
Thanks Carol. That raises a possible loose end. I know that they cut the tree out, but did she get a carpenter to fix the roof or whatever other part of the upstairs was wrecked? It also brought back a memory from our trip to Ireland and a visit to an old and deserted, broken down monastery. In the central courtyard stands a huge tree. The caretakers have let it be there but imagine all the stuff they have cut back or one would never get into the courtyard!
And LOIS!!! It is a joy to my heart to see your comments here! Yeah, Linus and wife are indeed the villains! What a pair a murderous pair. I have no doubt that IF the so-called detective had gotten Eliza back to the manor alive, she would have been put to death in some way or other. Did the “detective” “let” her fall, or maybe even push her? Unknown, but he knew that Adeline wanted Eliza dead and money was his object. The horror of Blackhurst!
Lois ~ so good to hear from you ~ You always had wonderful info to report about one of the mysteries we would read ~ Hope you are doing well and will continue to connect ~ Love hearing from you ~ ^_^
I was gratified to see that I was not the only one who found the book often confusing and that one or two of you also questioned its being categorized as a “mystery” book.
I add my “welcome back” to Lois. Keep the comments coming.
And I’m happy to communicate with you all from Florida!
Leslie Here, with thoughts sent over a week ago. I didn’t have as much irritation with the back and forth chapters as most of you, since it reads like some other family saga novels. I, too, would not classify this as a classic mystery, but the unknowns around Nell did lead you on to keep reading. The size of the book was great in this time of imposed shelter-in-place and I would definitely read more by Kate Morton.
Notes from 3/17:
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would like to read another one by the author. To me it was more of a historical/family novel than a mystery. Yes, there was always the uncertainty of who Nell was, but the unfolding family dynamics were what interested me. From the ostracism of Georgiana, to the stranglehold of Adeline, to Rose’s desperation and Eliza’s agreement, there was a lot of family drama going on at that generation. And then there is Lesley and Cassandra in Nell’s generation. It was fairly obvious Nell could not have been Mary’s daughter because of Mary’s curly dark hair whereas Nell’s was strawberry blonde–just like Eliza’s. The hint from William that he saw something going on in Eliza’s cottage that was not kosher also helped reveal Nell’s identity. I wasn’t sure at first if it was Nathaniel or Linus, though, so Morton did keep a little of the suspense going. What was not as believable was the solution Adeline and Rose came up with using Eliza as a surrogate. They certainly had not thought of the long term repercussions on Eliza, Nell or Nathaniel. The train wreck was providential in that it cleared the way for Eliza to start fresh. It’s just too bad she went back for that brooch. Cassandra did a good job of sleuthing and not only got a good man in the process but a beautiful coastal cottage. (Though I still don’t understand how a tree through the roof didn’t do more damage to the cottage). I found the references to Francis Hodgson Burnett amusing, since the title is a take-off on her famous book, The Secret Garden, and one of my favorites in elementary school. This was an enjoyable read with family covering up unpardonable breaches, like Georgiana, and covering up others of their own making. Final score: 86
Sorry, Leslie. I kept scrolling thru my emails – I knew there was another early bird comment – and now that I read it again I remember it. I should have been posted above with the other 6. But now we have it! Thanks!
Dick,
Just saw the video–brilliant! As always, your research is beyond thorough and most illuminating. And you nailed the tech. Our own rock star! I look forward to looking at the Kate Morton website, thanks for the recommendation.
Yes, a tree through the roof ~ it does happen and it ~ Dick it was Christian (brother of William? who worked for the hotel) ~ who helped Cassandra with the tree and cottage ~ One of the few healthy relationships that developed in this book ~ Perhaps, there is the makings of another story with Cassandra and Christian ~ LOL ~ Good to have a happy ending to this book ~
Leslie, I too thought by the description that I would love to live in that cottage ~ Ah, fairytales and happy endings ^_^
from Lois–thanks for the welcome back–am enjoying the discussions which I missed because getting to the Library was not possible–good to hear from you–stay well —and alone (?) as we weather this new situation.
About Dick’s presentation — I found the info most interesting –those places really are there–with one or two exceptions–and the author was clever enough to make the false ones real enough so we did not really question their existence. Think since you and Ruth have walked on that very ground, the descriptions were more valuable to you in the reading of the book.
I find that I am more than interested in following the lives of the 2 odd parents of Rose–he seemed to have a very unnatural interest in Georgianna and her family– he seems to have that from the start and carried it on til the very end–and it would seem, he was responsible for her husband (or whatever) the sailor- being killed in that “accident—\which left her with the twins in poverty and bad life from then on–from the story line, Linus spent years searching for the traces of the lost sister–somewhat an unnatural attachment to begin with–and that goes on til his end—the wife was a horror and I think they both were intending to kill anyone, including Eliza, who appeared on their horizon that might add any newsy scandal to their life stories–they had already managed to kill several along the way. Guess I got stuck on the fact that I think the story is all about them and their “goals” and the rest is just fill in—suspect I am the only one who will think that–others being interested in Nell-and all those—oh well, we all can’t think the same—makes life interesting.
Dick–Just watched your thoroughly detailed video. What marvelous research you did in order to illuminate some of the details about The Forgotten Garden, most especially the geography. I tend not to get involved in all the details of our books, so your presentations always add so much to my own experience of the books, and this was no exception–perhaps even one the most extensive. Thank you so much.
Thanks, Selena. But I want you to know that I made that video before I read the comments you wrote. I’m referring to my comments at the end of the video about whether the book is a “mystery.” I wasn’t responding to your comments. I spoke about that because the same thought was on my mind and suspected it would be on the mind of a few others. It is a legitimate question. Answering it becomes partly a matter of how sub-genres are defined. It can also simply be a way of indicating a preference for some sub-genres and not others. But others are welcome to jump in on this question: Is The Forgotten Garden a “mystery” – why or why not?
My response is that The Forgotten Garden is a mystery ~ not the classical ‘who dun it’ type but a mystery nevertheless. I suppose you could call it a ‘sub genre’ ~ then it is a type all of its own ~ Like the Name of the Rose `The Forgotten Garden is Historical as Dick depicted so well in his video ~ It also has elements of ‘who dun it’ ~ many ‘sub plots’ to figure out with many characters ~ even a ‘cozy’ characteristic to it ~ even a ‘noir’ feel to it during the days on the wharf and workhouses ~ even a bit ‘romance’ with Cassandra and Christian~ I am glad we read this book ~ it was a very different genre than we have read over the years ~ Thanks ^_^ ~ Looking forward to others thoughts on ‘Mystery’ definitions and discussion ~
This is my third attempt to send my comments on the forgotten garden. it will be much shorter than my first two. I thoroughly enjoyed the book except for the fact that the story line kept switching back and forth over time. That was really difficult to deal with. I loved the authors writing style, the settings, the characters. I always felt that I was at the cottage. To me, although it was not a traditional mystery, it was Nell’s mystery to solve as to why she was left on the ship and who was her real family. I gave the book an 85. –Anne
Hey, Anne ~
Great to ‘see you’ here ~ I agree with you ~ loved the book ~ had to pay attention with the ‘time switches’ ~ Hope you are well ~ Stay Well ^_^
Hey, Anne ~
Great to ‘see you’ here ~ I agree with you ~ loved the book ~ had to pay attention with the ‘time switches’ ~ Hope you are well ~ Stay Well ^_^
I very much enjoyed this book. I was engaged right from the beginning and caught up by the settings, characters and overall feel of the story. While l guessed that Eliza was Nell’s mother, l was surprised that she was “killed” and buried in the garden. The interwoven fairy tales were very well done, adding to the atmosphere and romance of the story. At times, l found the back and forth distracting, l typically don’t enjoy jumping between characters and time periods. There were spots when l thought good editing would have made the story move along better. Small complaints though as l really liked the creativity of the book and plan to read her other books. My score: 90.