The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton ****

Like Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved classic The Secret Garden, Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden takes root in your imagination and grows into something enchanting--from a little girl with no memories left alone on a ship to Australia, to a fog-soaked London river bend where orphans comfort themselves with stories of Jack the Ripper, to a Cornish sea heaving against wind-whipped cliffs, crowned by an airless manor house where an overgrown hedge maze ends in the walled garden of a cottage left to rot. This hidden bit of earth revives barren hearts, while the mysterious Authoress's fairy tales (every bit as magical and sinister as Grimm's) whisper truths and ignite the imaginary lives of children. As Morton draws you through a thicket of secrets that spans generations, her story could cross into fairy tale territory if her characters weren't clothed in such complex flesh, their judgment blurred by the heady stench of emotions (envy, lust, pride, love) that furtively flourished in the glasshouse of Edwardian society. While most ache for a spotless mind's eternal sunshine, the Authoress meets the past as "a cruel mistress with whom we must all learn to dance," and her stories gift children with this vital muscle memory. --Mari Malcolm --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I think the description of this book is deceiving. It's not the "Secret Garden, and it's not about fairy tails. Fairy tails are discussed in the story, but not part of the plot. Based on the description, I expected another "Secret Garden"; maybe a little "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe"... that was my own assumption, but I think I was a little disappointed when it was proven wrong.

This book is a mystery about how a little girl wound up on a ship across the world by herself. She ends up in Australia with amnesia (which is never really explained) and doesn't know who she is or where she came from. She's adopted by a family and grows up to live what seems like a fairly normal life. The story begins when her granddaughter discovers some of her history, and heads to England to find out the rest. There are flashbacks between the granddaughter, the child who was abandoned and her parents. The book wasn't an easy read, but it was enjoyable. I think the closer I got to the end and started finding answers, the more I liked it. That said, it was also a bit of a relief when I was finally done. (I'm normally a quick reader, and it took me three weeks to get through it.)