The Garden of Lost and Found is a multi-generational family saga written by British author, Harriet Evans. Evans has written thirteen novels, two of which are Richard and Judy book club selections.
In 1919, Liddy Horner finds her husband – a world famous artist – Ned Horner burning his famous painting titled ‘The Garden of Lost and Found’. The piece depicts their children playing happily in the garden of their beloved Nightingale House. Decades later, in the twenty-first century, their great-granddaughter Juliet is sent the keys to the house. With her marriage breaking apart, she leaves London and moves to Nightingale House with her three children. Though dilapidated, the house is beautiful and just as Juliet remembered it.
The parts of the story set in the past are beautifully written, capturing the allure of the garden at Nightingale House. The contemporary parts of the novel are also well-written and accurately capture the trials of motherhood and the chaos created by the prospect of divorce. Still, some readers have come to criticise Juliet for her flaws, always groaning and arguing with her husband and children. Though this can be a little grating at times, the struggles the characters face are believable.
For readers who enjoy a dual timeline, this novel brilliantly shifts between past and present, weaving together the lives of Ned and Liddy with those of their great-granddaughter and her family. Some readers have criticised the novel for making it difficult to keep up with the wide cast of characters and to some extent, this is true. The absence of names at times and frequent uses of ‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘they’ interrupt the flow of the story.
All that said, the detail Evans builds into her characterisation and wider descriptions are effective and enticing. Her novel is a brilliant read, especially for those who enjoy contemporary-historical fiction.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
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