Garden of Shadows

V.C. Andrews' thrilling new novel spins a tale of dreadful secrets and dark, forbidden passions -- of the time before Flowers in the Attic began. Long before terror flowered in the attic, thin, spinsterish Olivia came to Virginia as Malcolm Foxworth's bride. At last, with her tall handsome husband, she would find the joy she had waited for, longed for. But in the gloomy mansion filled with hidden rooms and festering desires, a stain of jealous obsession begins to spread...an evil that will threaten her children, two lovely boys and one very special, beautiful girl. For within one innocent child, a shocking secret lives...a secret that will taint the proud Foxworth name, and haunt all their lives forever!

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

sent this to my sister as well, 2008-01-16
i sent it to my sister so i couldn't tell ya, she seemed to be pleased though


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

A cut above, 2007-10-21
The 5th installment, prequel to the Flowers in the Attic/Dollanganger series, picks up a notch from book 3 and 4 which although entertaining were a bit of a let down.
This book follows Olivia, who in her mid twenties, looks destined to be an old maid. In comes handsome Malcolm Foxworth, whose unromantic wedding proposal gives Oliva hope of living a life of love and family. they are soon dashed when Malcolm's true nature is revealed. So begins a downward spiral of dissapointment, deceit and bitterness, twisting Olivia into the cruel Grandmother first introduced in Flowers in the Attic.
Entertaining, but not one of V C's best.


0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

This is the worst of the Dollanganger saga..., 2007-01-14
This book seems to have been written by the ghostwriter. There's so much filler and nonsense in this book, and a real lack of depth, unlike original VCA works.

This is about the life of Chris and Cathy's grandmother, Olivia, and their grandfather, Malcolm. It's what you would expect: Malcolm is cold and ruthless, and he hardens Olivia's heart as well. Corrine and Christopher get together, and everything is ruined for the Foxworths. Come on...we already knew this from the first book; why did we need this one? If you're a true fan and want to read all of this saga, go ahead. But if you end up as bored as I was with it, you won't read it twice.


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

An interesting take on the Dollanganger backstory, 2006-09-16
I don't really accept this book as a true part of the "Flowers in the Attic" story -- any more than I accept "The Phantom Menace" as a real part of the Star Wars epic -- but I have to admit, it's a fun read, and I found it much more interesting than I thought I would. And, yes, it's certainly a lot better than "The Phantom Menace" (not that that's saying much).

So, why the disclaimers? Well, for starters, there's quite a bit that doesn't jibe with "Flowers in the Attic." Additionally, a lot of key issues aren't dealt with. For example, in a story dealing with the young Corinne, you would expect to see some sort of a hint of a deficiency in her character, some darkness that would jibe with what we see later, in "Flowers in the Attic." Similarly, the character of Olivia is not what it should be. You expect to see a real transformation in her, and you see a bit of one -- but not enough. There's not enough to foreshadow the monstrosity that follows. In addition to that, within this novel itself, the character's behavior is inconsistent. I get the feeling that the author thinks that these fluctuations are nuances, but they just seem unreal.

On the upside, though: the author definitely understands Southern gothic, and he (or she) weaves in some funky surprises that not only fit into the basic FITA story, but complement it nicely, and make you think about it in new ways. The character of Alicia, who we hear so much about in the other books, comes to life vividly. Best of all, there's a painfully ironic twist at the very end of the book that, I have to admit, I don't totally buy, but it's a gutsy choice, and it's fun to mull over the fact that things could have happened that way.

In sum: it's a fun read, best enjoyed if you think of it as the brainstorm of a good friend imagining how the Dollanaganger kids came to be locked in the attic. Then you can come up with your own version. Too bad we'll never know for sure what V.C. Andrews thought.


1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

This is no different from any beginning. Pure and Easy, 2006-08-22
This was when everyone was thinking rationally. This was when I saw the beauty of the woman who would later become the Grandmother; set up on a blind date by her father with the mysterious Malcolm Foxworth her life is never the same again. Following a whirlwind romance, and wedding she's whisked away to Foxworth Hall, and all it's idosecrencies. She finds herself unloved, and only to breed a certain breed of children, and talk of Malcolm's mother is strictly forbidden. Well Malcolm shows what, and how he wants things in the Foxworth Hall...his way, and when his father shows up with his young new bride Alicia, and bad blood starts between Father and Son to where the mysterious death of Malcolm's father is never to be discussed. The secret is covered up, and everyone thinks that it's gone, but it's not. In fact this is where the lifelong cover up occurs. It's quoted in the Bible where God's wrath is shown on a person's family leading out to the 4th and 5th generations. This doesn't necessarily mean that if one generation messes up, but the other wants to get right with God that it's too late that God's wrath takes it's course, and nothing can stop it until after the 5th generation. If a family wants to turn, and break the chain, or any particular family member wants to go against the stream of what his family's doing then God will look upon them with favor. Salvation is for the individual, and not the family. A person can be saved, but he/she can't save thier family. Unfortunately, with the Foxworths it's where they walked around in darkness from one generation to the next starting here, and Malcolm's family fell apart where his sons respected him out of fear, and his wife just doted on her sons. Then with Malcolm's father's death came Alicia pregnant with Malcolm's baby which was a girl. Malcolm would name her Corrine after his mother who abandoned him when he was 5. Unfortunately, Malcolm couldn't let go of this, and after his sons died, and Corrine became a teenager she would be ready to go to the best college for women until she was discovered in bed with a young man who she only thought of as a first cousin, but in reality was her brother. This was the downfall of Foxworth Hall as Malcolm would throw the both of them out, and succumbed to a heart attack that would leave the Grandmother in charge. The ending of this book would be the foundation of the story that started it all "Flowers In The Attic". It was a book that made me begin to think of the grandmother in a different light. She seems to be a very loving woman who didn't have the peace of God within her spirit to weather this storm as she lost her beauty, and it was turned to ice. She would put off the air of grace, and seems to display it through allowing Corrine to move back to Foxworth Hall after losing her brother/husband to death. However, there was alot of repressed anger seething under her that would make the following generations just as doomed.

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