I've not read anything by Harriet Evans before but I was attracted to this book by the cover and the title (I love gardens!). I also really enjoy stories featuring old houses and family mysteries.
The story has two timelines. One takes place from 1891 to 1919, and the other over the period of a year in the present day. In the past, renowned artist Sir Edward Horner has almost bankrupted his family by buying back his most famous work, The Garden of Lost and Found, which shows his children playing in the garden of his wife's ancestral home. In the present his great-granddaughter, Juliet, unexpectedly inherits the house - and tries to solve the mystery of why her great-grandfather destroyed the painting he loved.
The chapters set in the past, about Edward and his wife Libby, were enthralling but very sad. My favourites were those set in the present, about Juliet's new life as she separated from her husband and attempted to bring up her children in a very dilapidated old house. Her children, Bea and Isla, were complete monsters, very resentful of their move from London to a house in the middle of nowhere; I loved them! Isla, in particular, was very funny. I also enjoyed the notes written to Juliet from her grandmother, explaining how to care for the house and garden, and the various jobs that needed doing at different times of the year. The story has some clever twists; one near the end took me completely by surprise!
The chapters set in the past, about Edward and his wife Libby, were enthralling but very sad. My favourites were those set in the present, about Juliet's new life as she separated from her husband and attempted to bring up her children in a very dilapidated old house. Her children, Bea and Isla, were complete monsters, very resentful of their move from London to a house in the middle of nowhere; I loved them! Isla, in particular, was very funny. I also enjoyed the notes written to Juliet from her grandmother, explaining how to care for the house and garden, and the various jobs that needed doing at different times of the year. The story has some clever twists; one near the end took me completely by surprise!
The Garden of Lost and Found is a lovely, heart-warming story about the importance of family, and the consequences of keeping secrets and how they can affect the following generations. I would recommend it to fans of authors such as Kate Morton, Eve Chase and Lulu Taylor. One of my favourite reads this year!
Thank you to Harriet Evans and Headline Review for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
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