Garden of Shadows
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Garden of Shadows was published in 1987, under the name V.C. Andrews. V.C. Andrews, of course, died in 1986, and her estate has commissioned a ghostwriter, Andrew Niederman, to continue churning out novels in her name, typically developed from plot outlines originally written by Andrews. There is some dispute over whether this particular novel was written in part by Andrews before she died, or whether it was written entirely by Niederman. In any event, this is the fifth and final novel of the Dollanganger series. It explains the lives of Olivia Winfield (the grandmother from "Flowers in the Attic") and Corrine's marriage.
[edit] Plot
The story starts with gangly plain Olivia being rescued from spinsterhood by the smart and handsome Malcolm Foxworth. They’re soon married and move to Foxworth Hall where Olivia starts to discover the dark secrets about Malcolm that start to kill her love for him. She discovers he is still tormented because his beautiful mother Corrine "abandoned" him when he was five and that it was Olivia's plain looks and money that attracted him to her due to his hatred of beautiful women.
When exploring the house she discovers The Swan Room, which belonged to Malcolm’s mother and has been kept as a shrine to her. When Malcolm discovers her in the room, they finally consummate the marriage, but with Malcolm saying his mother's name the whole time.
Nine months later Oliva gives birth to a boy Malcolm, then Joel. After this she can’t have any more children and Malcolm ignores the boys for the rest of their lives because he can’t have a perfect daughter to remind him that all beautiful women are wicked and deceitful.
Soon Malcolm’s father Garland comes back to Foxworth Hall with his new wife Alicia. Olivia is disgusted to see she's only nineteen and beautiful and Malcolm is enraged to discover she is pregnant with a boy Christopher, but falls in love with her. When she spurns his advances he’s convinced she is leading him on and vows to make her pay dearly.
On the night of Christopher’s third birthday, Garland catches Malcolm trying to rape Alicia and has a heart attack and dies in the fight that follows. Then Alicia confesses to Olivia that that Malcolm has been doing this regularly and she is pregnant again. Olivia is humiliated and jealous and this is when she hardens herself and becomes more like the grandmother from Flowers in the Attic.
Olivia decides that the only thing do to do is to hide Alicia up in the attic while she is pregnant then pass the baby off as hers. Alicia reluctantly says goodbye to Christopher and lets Olivia cut off her beautiful auburn hair, which she leaves on Malcolm’s desk to show that she’s in charge now.
Over the months that pass Olivia begins to think of Christopher as her new son and is heartbroken when Alicia leaves quietly taking Christopher with her but is soon enraged when she discovers Malcolm has named the new child Corrine and plans for her nursery to be next to his study.
In the years that pass, Corrine grows up into a beautiful but spoiled young girl and Malcolm Jr, then Joel are killed in tragic accidents. Olivia and Malcolm turn to religion and bond slightly until Olivia receives a letter from Alicia who’s dying, and pleading with her to give Christopher a home and put him through College. Olivia convinces Malcolm, and Christopher comes to live with them. When they meet for the first time, Corrine and Christopher fall deeply in love and are banished from the house when Olivia discovers them making love in the Swan Room. Years later Corrine comes back to Foxworth Hall with her children Cathy, Chris, Cory and Carrie, which is where the book finishes. One glaring inconsistency with the earlier novel Flowers in the Attic is the description of how a light snow was beginning to fall when Corinne and her children arrived. However, in Flowers in the Attic, Corinne and her 4 children arrive at Foxworth Hall in the month of August.
