Well, That Did It

In the post just below this one I mentioned the possibility of saying the heck with it and buying Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden. Well, I pulled it down off the shelf and opened it up to this…

And that did it. I was sold. The cover is even more gorgeous in person, with little fairies flitting about the scroll that teases the edge along three sides. When the cashier took it from me she said that the book was wonderful, that she absolutely loved it, and that’s not the first glowing review I’ve heard.

In case you’re interested, here’s a sample. The first two paragraphs:

London, 1913

It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told. The lady had said to wait, it wasn’t safe yet, they had to be as quiet as larder mice. It was a game, just like hide-and-seek.

From behind the wooden barrels the little girl listened. Made a picture in her mind the way Papa had taught her. Men, near and far, sailors she supposed, shouted to one another. Rough, loud voices, full of the sea and its salt. In the distance: bloated ships’ horns, tin whistles, splashing oars and, far above, grey gulls cawing, wings flattened to absorb the ripening sunlight.

Atmospheric, don’t you think? I hope to get lost in The Forgotten Garden soon.

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