THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton

Finished Tu 8/20/13 August 2013 selection for The Contemporary Book Club, Springfield IL

My post on Good Reads-

THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN is a compelling story with the flavor and style popular women's novels of one hundred years ago.
The book presents a compelling mystery that spans almost one hundred years. In 1913 four year old Nell is found on a wharf in Brisbane, Australia and it takes until 2005 to determine her true identity, and how and why she got there. The novel jumps back and forth in time and develops dozens of interesting characters that painstakingly shed light on this central mystery, but the novel's primary strength is that it manages to flawlessly capture the flair of a Victorian melodrama at its finest. The book could almost be viewed as an homage to the early 20th century novelist, Frances Hodgson Burnett, and she is even a minor character in THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN.

   
Three Basic Time Periods-
1) London 1913
2) Brisbane, Australia 2005
3) 1975 Covers Nell's trip from Australia to Blackhurst Estate (Tregenna) The estate is in Cornwall, England

(The Authoress) Eliza Makepeace

Ivory Walker (Nell)
Ivory is actually Eliza's daughter, but most of the novel it's assumed to be Mary (the maid's) child

Cassandra- Child of Nell's daughter,  Lesley. Nell had bought the cottage, and was preparing to relocate when Lesley shows up with Cassandra and she never is able to move to England.

Lil and Hugh- This is the couple that becomes Nell's adoptive parents when Hugh finds the four year old Nell on the wharf after the voyage from England.

Ben-the old man and friend of Nell's. He is a favorite customer at her shop, and his daughter, Ruby, helps Cassandra when she gets to England.

'White Suitcase'-This is the case with the storybook illustrated by Nathaniel Walker that Nell (Ivory) takes to Australia. There was money and ID but it is stolen by a mother of a big family. This woman kind of watched over the child, but she was crooked.

Henry Mansell-Detective hired by Adeline Mountrachet to locate the lost child. In the end Eliza dies from a fall out of his coach when he is bringing her back. She had already placed Ivory on the boat and dies before telling anyone. Adeline is married to photographer Linus. He has a club foot and was hated by his family. They made him feel worthless. He was in love with his sister, Georgiana.

Georgiana got pregnant by a sailor and left Blackhurst and had Eliza. After Sammy is killed and Mansell finds them. Eliza is brought back and Adeline attempts to 'break' her.

Will is the little boy who kind of befriends Ivory on the voyage. His mother takes her money

CRONE'S EYES p. 95
THE GOLDEN EGG p. 471
facts on the Mountrachets p. 160-165

Mrs. Swindell this is where Eliza and her twin brother Sammy live in London (1913). The old woman is greedy and mean to the children. This is where Eliza hides the broach, and this is what allows Mansell to capture her when she leaves with her daughter. She comes back for the broach after placing the child on the boat, and he chloroforms her. Mrs. Swindell threatens them that the 'do gooders' will take them away and put them in an orphanage.

While playing 'Ripper' with Sammy, Eliza runs ahead and in the fog, Sammy is killed when a horse walks on his chest. She was going to use the broach to pay for a funeral, but decided that Mrs. Swindell would only steal the money.

Clara- this is the daughter of Mary, the maid. Cassandra is in England and has met Ruby and Ruby tells her of meeting Clara and this woman had sketches of Nathaniel Walker

37 Battersea Church Road- this is where Mrs. Swindell lived and Nell goes back to this address when she visits as an adult and meets Mrs. Swindell's daughter who lives at the same house. Her name is Harriet Swindell.

William Martin- Old man who loved Eliza and saw her having sex with Nathaniel. "It's not what it seems". Cassandra meets him through his granddaughter.

Christian- he is boyfriend of Cassandra and helps her get the cottage livable, and also helps with the garden. He is an ex-cancer doctor. He met Nell one time when he was eleven years old when he was in the garden, and she kind of gave him her blessing to watch over the place.

Rose and Nathaniel are killed in a train accident in 1913. This allows Eliza to take Ivory because she doesn't want her child to grow up at Blackhurst with Adeline and Linus

When Eliza is taken back to Blackhurst she is wearing Sammy's clothes and had cut off her red hair.

Rose swallows a thimble as a child and is x-rayed for an hour causing her to become sterile. Christian tells Cassandra and then they realize that  Rose could not be Ivory's natural mother. But they still think the it's Mary's child.