The Forgotten Garden

     A little girl stands alone on a dock with a suitcase and a book of fairy tales.  The dockmaster and his wife adopt her and raise her as their own.  On the eve of her twenty-first birthday, the man she thought was her father tells her the true story of her arrival.  The secret devastates Nell.  She spends the rest of her life trying to unravel the secret of her childhood and the authoress who haunts her memories.  The secrets lead to Cliff Cottage, but she gives up the search to raise her granddaughter Cassandra.
     When Nell dies, Cassandra is shocked to find out about Nell's past and even more surprised to learn about her inheritance of Cliff Cottage.  She travels to England to unravel the secrets and dark mysteries of her family that stretch through three countries and a century of time.
     This is a beautiful story that reads like a fairy tale.  It is one of my favorite books.  The writing was exquisite.  The world came alive in every location and every time period.  The characters were well developed, interesting, and believable.  I loved the way the decisions, mistakes, and tragedies of each generation impacted the next generation so profoundly.  It made the tragedies more heartbreaking and the grace in the face of evil even more beautiful.  This book changed me and made me a better person.
     This book has limited action and tells the story from many perspectives and time periods, so it may be frustrating for some readers.