The Secret Garden

A childhood classic!

great book

This charming children’s classic, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is worth reading as an adult, even if you read it first as a child. The story vividly and accurately portrays the emotional journey that many third-culture-kids experience, as they confront the reverse-culture-shock of repatriation.Mary Lennox is a nine-year-old, British military brat, born and raised in British Colonial India. The story begins in the midst of a cholera epidemic, which kills both of her parents. When a pair of British officers discover Mary all alone in her parents’ empty bungalow, she is quickly sent “home” to England, to live with an uncle she has never met. Although the “spoilt and sour” demeanor Mary exhibits at the start of the book is certainly in part the result of attachment issues caused by neglectful parents, it is also very clear that many of the things that trouble her about her new home are simply the result of culture shock. And, as is typical for TCKs “returning home” to their passport countries, her ignorance of local customs is perceived as willful insolence, and any mention she makes of “how things were done” in India, is perceived as boastful arrogance.It is only when she begins applying her TCK skills of “foreign” language acquisition (learning to speak the Yorkshire dialect spoken by the local people), studying the details of her new environment (learning to understand an appreciate the strange natural beauty and wildlife of the moor), and working on collaborative projects with local residents (reviving a neglected, secret garden), that she overcomes her grief, and begins to thrive in her passport culture.And the secret to her success? The “magic” of choosing to change her attitude toward the foreign land she now calls home.

One of the most heart-warming stories ever told.

"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett is the story of a young girl from India who befriends Collin, the sickly son of Archibold Craven, lord of Missethwaite Manor, located in England.The girl's name is Mary, who has just left India after becoming orphaned by a terrible plague. She slowly pulls Collin out of his sickbed, and into radiant health. She does so by introducing him to his late mother's once-neglected walled garden.I felt this classic was compelling and poignant. I loved the fact that the protagonist was a misfit. She held her own as a quintessential character, along with Collin and Dickon, the young gardener who helps her rescue the quiescent spirit of the garden itself. Mary has an optimistic viewpoint, contrary to the views held by his physician, Dr. Craven, and Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper. However, Collin is just as complex in his inner character, and his change is just as significant as Mary's.I recommend this book to anyone who has known someone who is ill. It is the story of a child awakening to the power of optimism, friendship, intention, and care.Breton W Kaiser Taylor

Enjoyed it very much...a touching story from one of my favorite time periods with a very positive timeless message regarding the power of positive thinking...contrast with more adult current books...The Secret and Ayn Rand's Fountainhead...a must for every young persons reading list...and some older folk like me....:-)

Mini Book Review: I was disappointed when I first started the book as I heard so many fabulous things about this classic. I almost gave up after about 30 pages as it was hard to read about a child who was just utterly unlikeable (and yes I can see how she bacame that way) But than something happened about 45 pages in I started falling in love with her and wanted to know more. Such a charming, beautiful story and I now know why so many people list this as one of their favorite stories. Since I have to get 3 reviews done by New Years Eve (Tomorrow) this is going to be a quickie review. Fabulous character development and wonderful use of setting. You felt like you knew these characters and let me tell you the whole time I was reading, I also imagined that I was on the moors with the children. As a child this would be a truly marvelous read. As an adult my only negative comments would be that some might stop reading because at the beginning Mary is so unlikeable. Also the ending is a tad saccharine and predictable - but I really didn't mind that as I am a big softie. To put it simply it is a lovely sweet innocent tale of the importance of play, good fresh air and the power of imagination.4.5 Dewey'sI purchased this at the Indigo at the Eaton Centre for my BBC 100 Top Books Challenge (Yeah I totally failed I only finished 2 of the 5 I was going to review - but hey I moved across the country and became at stay at home mom)

Despite some flaws, namely Dickon, little brother of servant Martha, being absolutely flawless, and his mother (Mrs. Sowerby) being a bit too preachy about how having the right attitude solves your troubles, I think this is a great read for adults as well as kids. Two very troubled, but spoiled and bossy, children work out their own problems with only minor assistance from adults, and they make their own creative use of the small bits of help given by adults. For example, Mrs. Sowerby sends a skip rope for little Mary Lennox, who was recently orphaned in India and new to her uncle's large and lonely estate on the moors of England. A sour and demanding girl of seven, she has been accustomed to having every little thing done for, even being dressed, her by Indian servants, and slapping their faces whenever she's displeased. That won't fly in England. The skip rope gets Mary outside, exploring. She explores the house and discovers Colin, the hidden-away, invalid son of her uncle, a widower and world traveler who avoids his problems and his son simply by staying away. Little Dickon, an earthy boy at one with plants and animals, befriends Mary and Colin. The two miserable children not only learn to use their own brains to find their way, but they don't need magic, special powers, weapons, or spectacular external events to move the plot along. It is a story of inner transformation of these children, discovering and working with the quiet "magic" of Nature, using the stuff that they are made of as ordinary humans. Mary and Colin are also transformed by having met their match (each other) as nasty, demanding, spoiled, yet deeply wounded, kids. Mary is not about to be ordered around the way Colin orders his servants and nurse around, and if Colin likes having the company of another child for a change, he'll have to change. Very good writing as well as a good story.

I almost didn't write a review of this, but then I figured.... eh, just because I'm not sure I'll take the trick, doesn't mean I can't put my card on the table. Anyway, my brother was in a stage piece of this, (as Mr. Craven) when I was in middle school, I think, {not quite ten years ago, come to think of it-- back when I was a gosling!}, and so I watched every performance they gave-- three, I think-- and I obsessed over the soundtrack for awhile.... I found it all to be wonderfully depressing, which was a sort of grey blessing, since I was absolutely depressed myself at the time.... Anyway, I know that that sort of reflection might be seen as a bit amateurish or something, but theatre can be illuminating.... I saw a stage piece of a Sherlock Holmes a few weeks ago, which helped me realize how much I detest that stupid....Anyway. It can be a bit more grey than green.... And there's an obvious thrust at 'magic', I guess, but it just manages to shy away from total cynicism and doesn't quite.... sometimes it just doesn't.... sometimes you just can't quite feel the magic in the cards, you know.... sometimes children have flowers in their cups, and other times.... they're just a bunch of little.... Six and one, you know.... It might seem a little odd to compare this to 'Pride & Prejudice', (and I care not to know precisely what some of the 1911 crowd thought of dearest Jane), but that is easily explained-- I obsess about P&P, and compare all manner of phenomenon to it. And.... the thing is.... 'tisn't as good, is it.... I mean, I read that once Jane joked that she ought to have written a chapter about Napoleon, you see what I mean, some things are just better avoided.... And while it's certainly easy enough to see the sort of.... craven, application of the ethic of avoidance-- lock up the garden! Never go back in!-- still.... still.... I mean, this book itself isn't quite needing of avoidance, it's like *that*.... but almost, almost, at times..... I mean, to be rather cruel about it-- Kitty and Lydia die in a flood, Mary hates everyone, and Lizzie goes off and jumps in the mud with the goats and kids from the.... from the lanes, almost! I mean, I hate to be brusque about it-- since it's almost become my cardinal sin!-- but you can do that with anything, I mean, with girls.... I mean, I've sorta come to think that there are only five girls in the world, although unfortunately there are just too many times when it's like, Where's Jane? What did you *do* with her? (I mean, and.... I *hesitate* to call Mrs. Bennet a 'girl'; she's the Queen of Spades!) So, there's that. I mean, you can see, obviously, how it's not quite as bad, well, not nearly as bad, as it obviously could have been, so there's that.... I mean, thank merciful Juno that there are no bloody suffragette riots, and no Irish thugs {and my family comes from, Suffolk, by and by, just like all of the Keatings} to crack Sybil's head against the pavement-- that, I suppose, would be one of the cardinal benefits of living in what might be loosely denominated as 'the middle of nowhere', a sort of English Appalachia, where people still (1911) are to be heard uttering variations of "thou", such as "tha'" and so on-- but I mean.... "You come along back to your own nursery or I'll box your ears." I mean, I haven't read all of the novels, but I'd imitate my Irish ancestors and 'bet the dole', so to speak, that *nothing* like that, ever, ever, *ever*.... I mean, I don't think you could get Lady Austen to put a sentence like that in print, if you offered to pay her all the muslin in India.... Not if offered to celebrate *her* birthday, the way that we celebrate that of *Dickens*.... and I suppose, that that's why we *don't*. "I am just a poor boy and my story's seldom told." Shut, up! Wow, I really wasn't going to do that. You follow it though, don't you?.... Do you knit, no, Do you sew, no, Do you read, Yes, why..... "Vanity and pride are different things...." You know, *sometimes*, they are pretty much the same.... I mean, I honestly didn't want to snap my fingers like this.... It's feelings about magic aren't as obnoxiously and nauseatingly and stupidly insincere as something like C.S. Lewis ("Mere Christianity"-- yes, *mere*, christianity, indeed!), or Lewis Carroll ("Euclid and his Modern Rivals"-- damn Anglophones! *Teach them in Greek!*) might write.... or something that *Wickham* might say.... And, yes, I do hiss, I hiss at the very name, at very *shadow* of that name.... I am a little mean sometimes, though.... the girl is the one who stands out, hahaha..... Although not here.... I mean, at least it's England, not Narnia.... or Kandahar.... .... Just because you dine at Pemberley, doesn't mean that you're stupid.... Just because you're not in one of those real Clint Eastwood movies, you know, looking the gritty truth of the world in eye, just like.... (Look the cold truth in the eye! Stare into the abyss!) I mean, like, it's not that hard to figure out what the orphans of the British Army are like, is it? It's not as though you've got to read "The River War", do you.... *or even this book*! I mean, if Mr. Bennet, *acting as though he wouldn't* go call on Bingely is bad, very bad, even, then how bad is it, if he *never* does, because.... he's not, *anywhere*? Very Bad Indeed, I should say.... Say, what would happen, were I to drink from that poisoned well? ~Well, that would be, Very Bad Indeed. ~Ah. I see. What more? What more is there? I mean, I do hope that my manner hasn't gone ill with anyone, and I am sure that just because I have alot to say-- more than I really meant to-- doesn't mean that I've balanced every word just so, the way that I might like.... But, anyway, it could surely have been worse-- and that is something, that is surely something....Although Mary could have played cribbage with Martha, and I'm sure they both could have gotten something out of that.... not that I dislike Martha, not at all.(It's just that she's not a girl; she's a servant. Did you ever read "And Then There Were None"? Another one of these lovely post-Victorian pieces-- see, I told you it could be *worse*! Anyway, "the women" always meant the two women, not the two women and the servant's wife.... Such bitter business, though-- better not to think on it....) Anyway. It need not really be marked for avoidance, though it does have a little grey in it. There's just better and worse, that's all. (8/10)

The Secret Garden is a book I have enjoyed again and again since childhood because of its themes and exciting plot. The story follows a young girl, Mary Lennox, and her journey from India after the death of her parents to her Uncle Archibald Craven’s estate in Yorkshire. Mary is an unhappy and unwell girl who finds solstice in search of a “secret garden” that once belonged to her uncle’s wife, Mistress Craven. She befriends the servants, gardeners and Dickon who assist her in nurturing the garden that has gone untouched but once a year since Mistress Craven’s passing. Mary also becomes interested in Master Craven’s son, Colin, whose cries she hears one night and is forbidden to seek out their source by the head servant, Mrs. Medlock. Mary finds the boy anyway and quickly realizes that his sadness stems from the belief that he will become a hunchback like his father and he will die young. Mary brings him to the garden with Dickon where Colin stands on his own for the first time. The author leads the reader to believe that the secret garden is responsible for Colin’s miraculous recovery, as well as Mary’s revival from her parents’ death. Themes include “mind over matter” and health having a direct relationship with outlook, as well as the importance of faith and human relationships.

This book is about a little girl, Mary Lennox, who is orphaned after both her parents die of Cholera in India. She is sent to live with her uncle, Mr. Craven, in England but feels that she’s just as unwanted there as she was with her own parents. Being left to her own devices she learns that Mr. Craven’s wife died in a tragic accident but spent all of her time in a favorite garden that is now locked and hidden. By exploring the manor and the land she soon discovers the secret garden as well as her own cousin, Colin (the son of Mr. and Mrs. Craven) hidden away in a room due to his presumed spinal condition. Mary sneaks Colin out and with the help of their new friend Dickon, they begin to bring the garden back to life as well as restore Colin’s health and ability to walk. Mr. Craven, who spends most of his time brooding and traveling, comes home to discover the children in the garden and is shocked to find that his son can walk. The family is reunited and strengthened.I loved this book. There are so many interesting themes throughout the book as well as many mysteries. My favorite part of the book was when Mr. Craven finds Colin walking and running and realizes that, in his attempt to rid himself of his beloved wife’s tragedy, he has neglected his only son. I would be lying if I didn’t tear up at the thought of the family united by my Mary’s impertinence, curiosity, and determination. The characters seem very real and believable and I think that there is something in this book in which any child can relate.Classroom Extension Ideas:1.The children can choose a spot on school property (or they can use various pots) to plant their own secret garden. They can research and choose the different kinds of plants they will plant and take turns caring for the class’s secret garden.2.It might be interesting for older children to do different research activities about various things in this book. They could research the disease Cholera since it is pretty extinct these days. They could also do country studies on England and India. They could offer these studies in the form of a research paper, photo collage, or classroom presentation.

This was a re-read. No matter how many times I read this book, and that has been many, I still thoroughly enjoy it! I rate it right up there with Jane Eyre which I have also read many times.

Hale introduces each chapter with a song lyrics or poetry from quarry village, Mount Eskel, where the next princess of the land is destined to come from. The setting is clearly established in the first chapter though the lead character Miri banking the coals, hanging goat dung out to dry and adding water to the salt port. She hears and hums the songs of the working quarry men mining for linder. The story is a tightly woven tapestry with the themes of friendship, community, family, work, and education. Each theme is well developed starting from a simple observation or thought of Miri building through each chapter. Hale twists the typical image of princess from a young woman solely immersed in social graces and dances to that of young women trying to better the lives of themselves and their community. Miri

This is probably the loveliest book I've ever read.

Mary Lennox was born in India and was raised by her ayah, without love from anyone. An then she has to go live at her uncle's in Yorkshire, England.

This is a book about the discovery of love, about people learning how to care for each other. The way the story is told, the characters, the way they talk are so innocent that you can't help to smile because everything is so beautiful.

Important: this is not exclusive for children. This is one those stories that can be read by anyone, at any age. The writing is not so childish as in most children's books.

And the characters are really the most lovable ones. There's probably no one in the world who wouldn't love Dickon, a boy who loves everything about the nature and is friends with animals.

I really cannot put into words how beautiful this book is. "The Secret Garden" is one of my favorite movies of all time, and now I can understand how such a movie was possible.

"To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live."Mary Lennox is a 10 year old girl unwanted and ignored by her parents. Self absorbed and obstinate, she is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor, a dark gloomy mansion in the Yorkshire moors of England. When she gets there not much changes-she's ignored by everyone around her, including her grumpy and distracted uncle, and she continues to act ill mannered and spoiled.Things begin to change when a friendly robin leads her to a secret door that leads to a forbidden secret garden. The secret garden opens up a new perspective for Mary, who doesn't know what it is to be loved, and she begins to love the garden and its growing things. With the help of a local "animal charmer", Dickon, and Mary's sickly cousin, Colin, who happens to be more obstinate than herself, the garden is slowly brought back to life. As they nurture the garden back to life, they begin to learn the power of caring for others and of believing in oneself.This book was a real charmer. Whimsical, mysterious, and full of good morals to teach young people, such as the importance of caring for others and the power our thoughts have on our attitudes and consequently our lives. This is a childrens classic I truly look forward to reading to my kiddos when they're a little bit older.

I've always believed I had read this book as a child. I know I had read a version of it - but quite a lot of the elements do not fit into what the book ended up being - so either it was a condensed version (during the translation) or I really don't remember it that well. It's a book full of magic - not the fantasy type but the magic of life, friendship and hope. And clean air. A girl that had grown up in India (and had always had her way there) and is shipped to England after the death of her parents, a boy that everyone believed to be so ill that he had almost never left his bedroom (and in the process convinced even himself that this is the case) and another boy that had grown up poor but free and has a knack for talking to animals - this does not sound like a regular group of kids that will get together but that's exactly what happens. Of course there is a garden, locked up for 10 years and hidden from the world, there is an old gardener that never forgot the past, there is the mother of one of them that will come to represent the mother of all of them. And there is the old English mansion - that looks so dreary to Mary when she arrives from sunny India and that ends up being at least as interesting place as any.Despite its good qualities, the book got on my nerves more than once - the naivete I can accept considering the age of the book but the repetitions were getting a bit too much. And resorting to a dream to drive the end of the story simply stole something from the magic of the book. The Yorkshire accent used by a lot of the characters takes a bit using to and I wonder if it was not part of my problem of the book - it is beautiful and interesting but it also slows down the story and at moments feel unnecessary. The 2006 Folio edition features gorgeous color illustrations by Charles Robinson - with pictures that could be seen in the books of my childhood, with the images clear and not trying to be modern or chic - just pictures that match points of the story and tell you the same as the words but it a different media.It's a book worth reading for the world of yesterday but I am not sure that it will be as alluring to the children of today as it was for the previous generations....

This is a sweet story of an orphan settling into her uncle's huge house and making a life for herself on the grounds as well as the house. Although told to stay away from one of the gardens, she can't resist. With encouragement from a new friend, she finds a way into the off limits space and brings the garden back to life and in doing so,healing her uncle's and her own hearts.

Before I ever read this as a kid, I had read “ The Painted Garden" by Noel Streatfield, so it's always had those associations for me. But it's been awhile since I last read it, so what I most noticed this time is that it's a children's gothic novel: it's got the dark family connection hidden away in a secret room of the house, it's got the wuthering and the moor – it'd be perfect, if it weren't for those giggling kids. :-)

Read the year I was eleven, shortly after Burnett's A Little Princess, The Secret Garden has been one of my "comfort novels" ever since, usually making an annual reappearance sometime in the dark and dreary winter, when the idea of a garden holds particular charm. The story of two cousins - spoiled orphan Mary Lennox, sent to stay at her uncle's estate in Yorkshire, and her invalid cousin Colin - both of whom find healing and love through the "magic" of the Secret Garden, this sentimental children's novel is a moving parable of the restorative power of nature...Stories of this type, in which children learn to "be good," abound in Victorian children's literature, but happily, The Secret Garden is not characterized by the almost obligatory sanctimony of the genre. Perhaps this is because Burnett is an author who understands child psychology, and the reader is able to identify with her characters, even when they are behaving poorly. This gives the book a modern sensibility that may account - in part - for its continued popularity.However that may be, this is such a satisfying novel, which never seems impossible or unrealistic. I have sometimes felt a little wistful when rereading it as an adult, recalling those days when I lived in a house with gardens. But that is another issue...Addendum: as is always the case for me, this reread - undertaken for the Children's Fiction Club to which I belong, was entirely satisfactory! I did notice some things, this time around, that eluded me before, like Mary's unfortunate comments about 'blacks' (by which she meant Indians in general, and her own servants specifically) not really being people. I think that Burnett clearly intends to show that this is not acceptable, by pointing out how rude, spoiled and unpleasant Mary is, although the narrator's own comments about the differences between the salt-of-the-earth Yorkshire characters, and the endlessly-salaaming Indian servants, still felt patronizing to me. Not enough to mar the story, but definitely of their time, and something adults might want to address, in discussing this story with children.

"The Secret Garden" is a very light, easy to read book, great for readers, age 8-11. Although it is definitely not an “action-packed” book, it succeeds where many books fail – its incredibly deep, realistic characters. Mary, Dickon, Colin, and their animal friends nearly jump off the page. If you are looking for a captivating book to read, I highly recommend "The Secret Garden", especially if you need something to cheer you up on a rainy day.

What's not to love about this story. My daughter got this edition for her birthday and is delighted! She especially liked the redesigned cover and was thrilled that it wasn't her old 'falling apart' copy !

The last 3rd got very weird. Chanting is Magic! I shall be a Scientist and discover this Magic! Oh my, extremely twee. Up until then good.

this book is a classic ... no matter how old you are .... or how trhis book is its amazing
the breathtaking description of the way the garden grows is so beautiful!!!

This book will continue to be read for many more years!!!

Mary Lennox appeared in my life some time in elementary school, my most memorable encounter with a main character who wasn't the usual sweet, nice, pretty girl spreading sunshine and rainbows where ever she went. I liked her right off. Her search for acceptance and family resonated with me.

Of course, as the novel progresses, Mary begins her transformation into that sweet, nice girl who can be loved by others and she fades into the background as Colin takes center stage. That little switch bothered me as a kid but I could never articulate it. The realization only came to me as an adult reading the book yet again and it made me a touch angry. Well, more than a touch, really. I can't find any evidence or indication that this switch in focus, along with the rather sappy and sudden ending, was imposed on the novel by editors or critics. The shift is in line with accepted ideas of the period -- girls should be compliant and quiet, "angels of the hearth", without making demands, sacrificing themselves for others, in order to be accepted, whereas boys must be commanding, physically strong, capable and in control to be worthy of love. A girl can't be demanding, selfish, or rebel against mistreatment. A boy can't be weak, scared, or vulnerable.

But that's an adult-level interpretation I can derive from the book now that wasn't apparent to me so many years ago, when what mattered was that secret space behind walls, the mystery of the crying in the night, the bright eyed robin, and a discovered key in the dirt. I loved Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary and I had to spend time with her over and over again.

Heart-warming story about a young boy who was believed to be too sick to go outside, and how his friendship with a young girl helped him more than medicine. A good book to teach the value of friends, health, and how to develop a plot when writing.

A reread of a book I adored as a child.

By all means look for the edition with the Tasha Tudor illustrations. This is a perfect book, one of my favorites ever. How can you resist a book that contains a hidden, neglected garden, and has a heroine who is far from sweet and prim and biddable?

this is one of the few books I go back and re-read every few yrs.

One of my favorites growing up

This book is full of Magic!