Garden of Shadows - Clarifications

Clarifications

This book, though a prequel, actually changes the entire scandalous nature of the series. Instead of half-uncle and niece, it is revealed Chris and Corinne are also half-brother and sister. The book also gives a sympathetic side to Olivia previously unseen in the other books. However, Olivia's softer side was implied in Flowers in the Attic, when Cathy theorizes at one point, though briefly, that Olivia was trying to prevent them from eating the poisoned donuts their mother sets out for them, when Olivia agrees with Cathy's demands that the dying twin Cory be taken to a hospital (but he really wasn't), when Olivia gives them a plant, and when Christopher witnesses Olivia in prayer at the foot of her bed.

This book also clarifies the suspicious marriage of Corinne and John Amos (mentioned in If There Be Thorns), considering the latter's obvious disgust with incest. As Corinne is not Olivia's biological daughter, she and John Amos are not genetically related. (If they were, Corrine wouldn't be related to John Amos too much as he is her (Corrine's) "fourth cousin.")

Also, this book theorizes Corrine's betrayal. It has stated in this book that she wanted to marry and have children, but her greedy side is shown in the other books, as shown in "If there be thorns" when Christopher states that Corrine wanted her husband (Chris Sr.) to sue and get the money that was his. Her betrayal is likely due to the fact that she was spoiled by her father and grew up in wealth, so once the children were in the attic, she turned more attention to getting her inheritance. It is shown that she also conspired with Olivia to lock her children away, as shown when she said (about waking the twins so they can walk because Chris and Cathy were complaining about holding them and their arms aching) "Lord knows, they'd better walk outside while they can." Corrine states in Petals on the Wind that she did use arsenic on the doughnuts, but planned to slip the children out of the attic and lie that they had died of the poisoning. This is a lie since there was no mention of this by Corrine in "Flowers in the Attic"