The Garden of Lost and Found: The gripping tale of the power of family love

Product Information

The Garden of Lost and Found is centred around the Horner family and a painting. Ned Horner used to be quite the well-known artist and “The Garden of Lost and Found” was his masterpiece. It captured his children on a beautiful day, playing in the garden of their beloved home, Nightingale House. But in 1919, a few days before his death, Ned destroys the painting. At university I read Classical Studies, which is a great way of finding out that the world doesn't change much and people make the same mistakes but it's interesting to look at why. I was at Bristol, and i loved the city, making new friends, being a new person. Almost a century later, Horner's great-granddaughter Juliet inherits Nightingale House, now weighed down with unspoken secrets. Why would Ned Horner destroy The Little Birds - the thing he loved best? And can art historian Juliet untangle the web of passion and tragedy in his life and her own to discover the answer? Being a mother can be hard. I recognised myself in some of the contemporary breakfast scenes! – Trying to please all but ending up pleasing none. Nightingale House was the Horner family's beloved home - a gem of design created to inspire happiness - and it was here Ned painted The Garden of Lost and Found, capturing his children on a perfect day, playing in the rambling Eden he and Liddy made for them.

Buy this book from hive.co.uk to support The Reading Agency and local bookshops at no additional cost to you. A man inherits a valuable piece of Manhattan real estate, leading to unexpected consequences, in this “strange and wonderful novel” (Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland ). Nightingale House, 1919. Liddy Horner discovers her husband, the world-famous artist Sir Edward Horner, burning his best-known painting The Garden of Lost and Found. Nightingale House was their beloved family home and the place where Ned painted The Garden of Lost and Found, capturing his children playing on a perfect day. I loved the rich detail of this story – the vivid descriptions of the house and gardens, the well developed characters, the trials and tribulations they faced, it was captivating. There must have been quite a lot of research which has gone into this book and it shows in the detail with various historical references. One thing I especially enjoyed were scenes involving the dolls house, which was made for Liddy and is a replica of Nightingale House. I’ve always been fascinated by dolls house and the detailed miniatures for them. Our childhood influences the adults we become. Childhood nightmares and curses follow a character down the years.Despite having had The Wildflowers on my shelf for the longest time, this was my first introduction to Harriet Evans. I really enjoyed her writing style as it’s beautifully descriptive. At times it felt as if I was right there at Nightingale House, hearing the rain patter on the windows, smelling the glorious scents from the garden, maybe even hear a mouse skitter across the floorboards. The Garden of the Lost and Found, Harriet Evans Themes: Fiction, Historical, Contemporary Reading Format: Audiobook 4 STARS // 7.5 CAWPILE

Harriet Evans is an accomplished romance writer, but she also writes chilling characters terrifyingly well from the evil childhood nurse, to the weak father and the selfish, manipulative husband. Humour also shines through with the recognisable tribes of primary school mothers and the sheer insanity of coping with small and strong minded children and troubled teens. I loved both timelines, rooting for both Liddy and Juliet as they dared to reach out for happiness despite the many obstacles in their way. Throughout reading The Garden of the Lost and Found, I felt swept away by the atmosphere the writing created. The story was all set in London and the English Countryside, which was a lovely, familiar setting. There is a big house at the centre of both timelines, Nightingale House, which both characters live in at some point. I really enjoyed reading about this quaint house and loved discovering more hidden features of it. When Ned and Liddy's great-granddaughter Juliet is sent the key to Nightingale House, she opens the door onto a forgotten world. The house holds its mysteries close, but she is in search of answers. For who would choose to destroy what they love most? Whether Ned's masterpiece - or, in Juliet's case, her own children's happiness. The theme of forgiveness was not fully explored in the novel a lot of characters were cut out of lives e,g Mary & Lyddies’s relationship, Stella and Juliet’s relationship with little exploration of the reasons why, impact and of possible resolutions Don’t miss the STUNNING new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author, Harriet Evans –THE BELOVED GIRLS is available to buy now!

What you need to know before your trail

This was my first Harriet Evans book, recommended to me as an audiobook after my mum loved it, so I thought I’d give it a go. I don’t usually reach for historical fiction, but this crossed into the modern world too, sharing the story between Juliet in present-day and Liddy in the early 1900s. It is all centred around a painting by Liddy’s husband, The Garden of the Lost and Found, that is said to have been destroyed. Liddy is also the great grandmother of our present-day protagonist Juliet. So there’s a family link, and also a love of art as Juliet works for art galleries. Her characters are finely drawn . . . The result is that rare and lovely thing, an all-engaging and all-consuming drama' Daily Mail

Engrossing and clever and funny and beautifully observed . . . I recommend it wholeheartedly’ Clothes in Books blogEngrossing and clever and funny and beautifully observed . . . I recommend it wholeheartedly' Clothes in Books blog Nightingale House links the generations. It becomes a character in its own right. Harriet Evans painted its picture with her words so that I could ‘see’ the house. The plot jumps between the past and present, and I adored this, as I found I was trying to work out the links. It all came together really well, and there were no questions unanswered. However, I did find one diary entry confusing as I couldn’t remember this particular character. Hunstanworth Village Hall Bookgroup review: Seven members read this book. All finished and enjoyed it. I’m a huge fan of Harriet Evans and having reviewed her last few books here on the blog am delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new release, The Garden of Lost and Found – and to be winding up the tour on its final day. My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the tour invitation and to Headline for the review copy.