THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN

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 the Authoress has disappeared without a trace.

A terrible secret

On the night of her twenty-first birthday, Nell O’Connor learns a secret that will change her life forever. Decades later, she embarks upon a search for the truth that leads her to the windswept Cornish coast and the strange and beautiful Blackhurst Manor, once owned by the aristocratic Mountrachet family.

A mysterious inheritance

On Nell’s death, her grand-daughter, Cassandra, comes into an unexpected inheritance. Cliff Cottage and its forgotten garden are notorious amongst the Cornish locals for the secrets they hold – secrets about the doomed Mountrachet family and their ward Eliza Makepeace, a writer of dark Victorian fairytales. It is here that Cassandra will finally uncover the truth about the family, and solve the century-old mystery of a little girl lost.

 – New York Times Bestseller –
– Sunday Times #1 Bestseller –
– #1 Bestseller in Spain –
– Spiegel Bestseller –
– 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards (winner) –
 – Indie Next Pick May, 2009 – 

CRITICAL PRAISE

‘Morton excels at creating absorbing mystery. This tale, like the maze in the garden of the title, is a fine place to lose yourself.’ — People (****)

‘[A] dark, suspenseful feast for history-lovers . . . a delicious book to get lost in.’ — Sunday Telegraph

‘ . . . immediately captivating and atmospheric . . . ’ — Bookseller & Publisher

‘A long, lush, perfectly escapist read.’ — New York Daily News

‘[A] sense of mystery and adventure that generations of childhood Enid Blyton readers will identify with.’ — The Courier Mail

‘Morton whisks the reader into scene after vivid scene, sometimes frightening us, often perplexing us, and always providing us with a great deal of entertainment.’ — Star Telegram (Fort Worth, TX)

‘Simmers with secrets and strangeness.’ — Good Housekeeping, UK

‘A foundling, a book of dark fairytales, a secret garden, an aristocratic family, a love denied — are all elements pulled together to build a tale that is compulsively readable.’ — Good Reading

‘ . . . a captivating tale of century-old secrets, family and memory . . . Beautifully written and plotted.’ — Weekend Gold Coast Bulletin

‘Wonderfully written, this is one of the best reads this year.’ — Woman’s Day

‘A compelling, richly layered mystery . . .’ — Australian Women’s Weekly

‘ . . . once in a while [a] book comes along that you can’t put down, you even put off going to work so you can finish it. You also know that at least once in your life, you will pick it up to reread. This is such a book . . .’ — Armidale Express

‘The story is full of twists and turns that kept hold of me all the way through — and kept me guessing until the final chapters.’ — Evening Gazette (UK)