Two-Sided Tuesday is a day where I take a more popular read that people are familiar with and offer another book that’s similar and (in some cases) better, in my own opinion.
Fairly certain you’ve been living under a rock somewhere if you haven’t read this book, or watched the movie (I used to get so creeped out by the movie, I must say!) The story of the little girl going to live in the big, scary house with a mystery is one that captivated me as a young girl and the book still remains on my bookshelf today (the copy I had as a girl even!). So if you loved this story, sorry, if you LOVE this story you should definitely check out Kate Morton’s:
In Amazon’s Q&A session with the author the very first question and answer is this:
Q: The Forgotten Garden has some marvelous parallels with Frances Hodgson Burnett‘s The Secret Garden, and Burnett even makes an appearance in your book as a guest at a garden party. Did her book inspire portions of your story?
A: The Secret Garden was one of my favourite books when I was a little girl. Along with stories like The Faraway Tree and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it’s one of many classic childhood tales in which children escape from the adult world to a place in which their imagination is allowed free rein. However, it wasn’t my intention to reference The Secret Garden when I first started writing.
In fact, The Forgotten Garden (which was called The Authoress until the final draft!) began with a family story: when she was 21, my grandmother’s father told her that she wasn’t his biological child. Nana was so deeply affected by this knowledge that she told no one until she was a very old lady and finally confided in her three daughters. When I learned Nana’s secret, I was struck by how fragile a person’s sense of self is and knew that one day I would write a story about someone who experienced a similar life-changing confession.
When I began to write about Nell, I knew that her mystery was going to lead her to an English cottage, but the other details were hazy. It was while I was auditioning English locations for my book that I came across mention of the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. My interest was piqued, and I began reading everything I could find about this place: a grand country estate with astounding gardens that had been locked and forgotten after its gardening staff were killed during the first world war and the owners moved away.
When it was rediscovered in the late 20th century, nature had reclaimed the estate, but the bones of the garden lay deep beneath the overgrowth. This story really fired my imagination and I knew that I’d not only found my location–Cornwall–but that I would also need a forgotten garden in my story!
I was also eager to play with 19th-century gothic conventions in The Forgotten Garden. I adore books like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, and I wanted a gloomy old house, wicked aunts, secretive servants, hidden identities, mysterious whisperings–the lot. But when my garden grew walls, I suddenly remembered The Secret Garden, and with my theme of fairy tales and storytellers and the vital role that such things play in a child’s imagination, I couldn’t resist introducing parallels (including a walk-on role for Frances Hodgson Burnett). It was a way of referencing my own childhood influences–Enid Blyton and the Famous Five get a couple of nods throughout, too!–and was a lot of fun.
I really can’t say more about this book then to tell you to read it and enjoy the similarities (and the differences as well) and fully enjoy the journey.
