Authors to Note: Kate Morton

Australian author Kate Morton is one of my favourite authors for historical fiction. Her books always have a lovely mix of past and present stories which harbour a myriad of mysteries and secrets. I always find myself rushing to devour her rich descriptions and uncover the answers hidden amongst the pages. I think part of the appeal is the way she often combines these stories into family dramas, of secrets once hidden long ago only to be discovered by another generation. Her books have sparked images of Downton Abbey and Atonement in my mind and I think fans of this period of time will really enjoy her novels. Here are three of my favourite Kate Morton books:

The Forgotten Garden. Cassandra, grieving for her much loved grandmother Nell feels as if she has lost everything important to her. When a mysterious bequest from Nell is bestowed upon Cassandra it throws up questions about her family that she never knew she needed answers to. Travelling to England, the birthplace of her grandmother Cassandra is on a quest to discover who Nell really was. Aided by a book of dark fairytales that belonged to her grandmother, Cassandra is determined to find out the truth about her family's past. But what she doesn't realise is she will also discover a new future for herself in the process.

The House at Riverton. In the summer of 1924 two sisters Hannah and Emmeline Hartford witness the suicide of a young poet. The event would be the last time the girls ever spoke to one another again. Over seventy years later Grace Bradley, once a maid at Riverton Manor, is interviewed about the young poet's life for a documentary. Secrets, memories and ghosts, all pushed aside now come crashing back. What does Grace know about the girls and the suicide that threatens to come spilling out?

The Secret Keeper. Set between 1961 and 2011, Laurel spends her sixteenth summer in her childhood tree house dreaming of boys and moving to swinging London. But one sweltering day she witnesses a shocking crime that will change her family forever. Now grown, Laurel is a successful actress but is still haunted by the memories of that summers day. Unable to move on she returns to her family farm intent to make sense of what she witnesses that day. What Laurel discovers is an unexpected story tying three strangers Dorothy, Vivien and Jimmy together by chance during wartime London.

Have you read anything by Kate Morton? If you are a fan of historical fiction I suggest you check these titles out!