In her 1978 pitch letter, Andrews described her novel as a “fictionalised version of a true story” about “real children who struggled to survive under almost unendurable circumstances … basically a horror story”. ‘Wicked sense of humour’ … Virginia Andrews Flowers in the Attic inspired the band name for Amanda Palmer’s band the Dresden Dolls, while Gillian Flynn has said that the mother and grandmother characters begat her addiction to “wicked women”: “It felt so new and stunning to me – these witches who seemed quite real.” There have been two film adaptations and a stage play, as well as sequels, prequels and retellings penned by both Andrews and Andrew Neiderman, the ghostwriter who took on Andews’ mantle after her death. Andrews’ gothic tale of incest, poisoning and dark family secrets has sold more than 40m copies. That “deranged swill” proved irresistible. I could have stopped you if I’d really wanted to.” Somehow, the incestuous teenagers acquire a romantic tinge: can Chris and Cathy escape, and will they make it as a couple despite everything that’s against them? A secret that will taint the Foxworth family for generations to come.They end up trapped in the attic for more than three years, where poisoned doughnuts kill off one of them, and where the overheated drama somehow leads Chris to rape his sister – but it’s fine, says Cathy, “you didn’t rape me. But in the gloomy mansion filled with festering desires and forbidden passions, a shocking secret lives. In the Garden of Shadows prequel, young Olivia arrives at Foxworth Hall thinking her marriage to handsome Malcolm will bring the joy she has longed for. Now their children may be doomed to repeat their mistakes. In If There Be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday, Cathy and Chris have moved on from their days in the attic, but the sins and secrets of their past keep catching up to them. As the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months, the unspeakable horrors that plague them are rivaled only by the sinful jealousies that begin to rise. Now they are trapped in their grandparents’ attic, waiting for their mother to figure out what to do next. In Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind, Chris, Cathy, Cory, and Carrie had the perfect lives-until a tragic accident changed everything. Now, all five books are available together in this new collection! Andrews’s bestselling Flowers in the Attic saga has been enjoyed by millions of readers for more than thirty years.

Flowers in the attic trilogy