The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans

The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans

This book is an oldie, but goodie - it debuted in 2009 - and this is a fiction book that should definitely be part of your garden fiction collection.

As with most of the fiction books that I recommend, this one has a beautiful cover and bonus points: the word "garden" is in the title.
In addition to all of that, Harriet Evans is a wonderful writer.

Now the publisher of this book pitched it this way.

One house for women And the secret that binds them all.
Lose yourself in this unputdownable tale of the enduring power of family love told by three generations of extraordinary women.

Imagine a sprawling estate, a haven of beauty and tranquility, where generations have found solace and inspiration. Now, picture that paradise shrouded in mystery, its secrets buried deep within its lush gardens. The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans is a captivating tale that invites us to explore this enchanting world, unraveling the secrets of a family's past.

Set against the backdrop of early 20th-century England, the novel follows Juliet, a descendant of the Horner family, as she inherits the family's ancestral home, Nightingale House. With a key in her hand, Juliet steps into a time capsule, a world frozen in a moment of idyllic perfection. Yet, beneath the surface of this seemingly serene paradise, a darkness lurks, a secret that has been kept for generations.

As Juliet delves deeper into the history of Nightingale House, she discovers a haunting tale of love, loss, and betrayal. The family's patriarch, Sir Edward Horner, a renowned artist, had painted a masterpiece, The Garden of Lost and Found, capturing a moment of pure joy in the family's lives. However, before his untimely death, Sir Edward had mysteriously burned the painting, leaving behind a puzzle that Juliet is determined to solve.

Through the eyes of three generations of extraordinary women, Evans weaves a tapestry of interconnected lives, each with their own secrets and sorrows. We meet Liddy, the matriarch of the Horner family, a woman of unwavering strength and resilience. Her daughter, Eleanor, is a free-spirited artist, seeking her own path in a world that often stifles her creativity. And then there's Juliet, the modern-day descendant, navigating the complexities of her own life while grappling with the mysteries of her family's past.

With Evans' vivid prose and evocative descriptions, we are transported to a world of lush gardens, grand estates, and hidden secrets. The author's ability to create characters that feel both familiar and extraordinary is a testament to her skill as a storyteller. The Garden of Lost and Found is a novel that will stay with you long after the final page is turned, a testament to the enduring power of family love and the secrets that can be buried within the walls of our hearts.

Now I bought this book back in November of 2020, and I know that because Amazon was kind enough to remind me when I went to find what year this book was published.

Anyway, I remember reading it over Christmas break, and I would say it's part mystery and part thriller.

So if you're looking for something to read over spring break- or maybe for a beach read over the summer- this would be a fantastic option.

And by the way, this is a big book. It is 560 pages.

I thought I'd give you just a little bit of a teaser here. It starts with the setting at Nightingale House in 1919:

Liddy Horner discovers that her husband, the world-famous artist Sir Edward Horner burned his best-known painting called The Garden of Lost And Found.

And he did that just days before his sudden death. 

And then, of course, we're off to the races.

So there you go.

You can get a copy of The Garden of Lost and Found by Harriet Evans and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $2.