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    The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Classic
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    The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Classic
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    The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Classic
    Ebook313 pages4 hours

    The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Classic

    By Frances Hodgson Burnett and Kelly Caswell

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A beautifully illustrated edition of Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved novel.

    The story of Mary Lennox’s rejuvenation in the English countryside has been enjoyed by readers of all ages since it was first published in 1911. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel centers around the themes of friendship, kindness, and self-discovery, making it a memorable tale that stays with the reader long after the story ends. Full-page color drawings by illustrator Kelly Caswell add a beautiful touch to the story, making this volume a cherished keepsake.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCanterbury Classics
    Release dateMay 1, 2018
    ISBN9781684124084
    Unavailable
    The Secret Garden: An Illustrated Classic
    Author

    Frances Hodgson Burnett

    Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924), author of The Secret Garden, also in an Aladdin Classics edition, and Little Lord Fauntleroy, enjoyed wider popularity in her own time with both adult and child readers than many other writers.

    Read more from Frances Hodgson Burnett

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    Reviews for The Secret Garden

    4/5

    6,255 ratings206 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Why did I wait so long to read this classic? The plot of this book centers around Mary Lennox, who came to England to live with a brooding uncle who she has never met as her parents both died of Cholera. She was a most disagreeable child. While there, she discovers her most disagreeable cousin who has been told he is an invalid from birth. She also meets Dicken, a Yorkshire lad who introduces the moor to Mary and her cousin. Just delightful!
    • 5/5
      Mary, a spoiled girl, is sent to live with her uncle after the death of her parents in India. Encouraged to get outside, Mary discovers a secret garden, waiting to be brought back to life. With the help of her new friend Dickon, she transforms the garden and the garden transforms everyone who enters. This is another one of my favorite books. This book describes the garden in such detail that it can help students imagine what the garden looks like. The students could write about what they would do if they found a secret garden of their own. They could also compare and contrast this book with the movie version as well.
    • 4/5
      Fun audiobook with Fiona Hughes reading it.
    • 4/5
      Having just re-read "Black Beauty" and being disappointed, i was nervous about revisiting this book but, thankfully, my fears were unfounded. "The Secret Garden" was as delightful as the first time I read it many, many years ago.
    • 3/5
      There is a lot to like about this children's classic: the set-up (Mary's family is all killed off during an outbreak of cholera in India - ouch! You don't have cold-hearted openings like that so often these days, and certainly not in this genre), the characterisations, the way that Hodgson Burnett attaches her story to the landscape of the Moors, the way that good life lessons are carefully disseminated without every becoming too cloying... and yet, because the ending was so well sign-posted by the halfway stage of the book, some sections did tend towards the tedious. Add to that the generally poor treatment meted out to the underclass (the poor, the gardeners, the household staff) and you end up with a book that it's easy to like and easy to be put off by. I'm glad I read it, and I would have no difficulty in recommending it to others, but there is a part of me that thinks that this book's time has been and gone.
    • 4/5
      The Secret Garden tells the story of Mary, a young girl of privilege growing up in India who, after her parents' death of cholera, is swept away to live in her estranged uncle's Yorkshire manor house in England. Spoiled and disagreeable, with no history of any true friendships, she must adapt to a new environment and learn to entertain herself.I'm one of probably a very few who have not previously read or seen the movie adaptation of The Secret Garden. I've had a copy of the book on my shelf for quite a while, but it wasn't until just recently that I decided to delve into an audio copy available on Hoopla, which I devoured pretty quickly while doing various work & household activities. This book is definitely a product of its era (published in 1911), but that's part of its charm. The most enjoyable aspect for me was reading about the true pleasure of the discovery of a garden and the effects that discovery can have on a child's imagination and outlook on life. Sometimes it's the simple things which can bring us such pleasure, and it's nice to be able to look at that through a child's eye.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite childhood books, about a young girl named Mary who is sent to live with her recluse Uncle in England after her parents die in India. She befriends her spoiled cousin and a local common boy, and together they discover an abandoned garden.
    • 5/5
      This story is very old and well-known, but it took me a while to read. It was a very interesting story and I was very interested in what happened, but the language in which it was written was so unfamiliar to me that sometimes it took me a while to get through the writing. However, I think it was beneficial for me to read a story like this because it shows how language and society has changed over time. It's good to compare life today to life back in the early 1900s.
    • 3/5
      The story overall was a good one and I really enjoyed Mary as a character however I did feel as though there were something missing. There was no real climax in the story which made it a bit boring and slow at times. Also feel like some key characters were underdeveloped when they should have been further explored.
    • 4/5
      As Mary, Dickon, and Colin would say: This book is Magic!
      A very sweet story with cute and unique characters. I only wish I had read it as a child.
    • 5/5
      This is a wonderful book about Mary's growth. At the beginning of the story she was a much spoiled child and selfish. However after she moved to England, she changed into a very kind girl thanks to the fresh air, grass filled with flowers and a secret gerden.I was moved to read this book because she was actually very pure and changed dramatically. I like this story the best of all English books that I have read before.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 5/5
      Read this when I was in gradeschool so it was great to read it again. Loved the mystery surrounding the crippled cousin and the birth/growth of the secret garden/uncle. Great story. Surprisingly not just for girls-the title can mislead.
    • 4/5
      As a child I loved watching The Secret Garden movie, it was one of my all time favourites. I had not realised it was a book at the time and wish I had of had the opportunity to read it as a child. The story was written so beautifully and I found the imagery to be so vivid in my mind. The illustrations by Robert Ingpen really added to the story and a spent quite a bit of time looking over them. This story was thoroughly enjoyable and heart warming.
    • 3/5
      I'd probably give this a 3.5 star rating if that was an option. I enjoyed the book. I did. But it didn't really resonate with me the way it might have had I read it when I was younger.
    • 5/5
      When bad-tempered Mary Lennox is orphaned, she is taken from India to the moors of Yorkshire to live at her uncle Archibald Craven's lonely manor house. The estate holds more than one mystery for Mary to solve, but all of the mysteries hinge on the mysterious walled garden, locked up by Mr. Craven ten years ago. Can Mary find a way to get in? What will she discover there, if she does?I think the thing that keeps me coming back to this book is that it can be read on so many different levels. It has a great plot that is perennially attractive to children -- what child doesn't long to solve a mystery and discover a secret place that is theirs alone? And if you go a little deeper, there's a lot of fascinating character development as Mary goes from someone completely unlikeable to a true heroine. There are interesting themes, like the healing power of nature, the danger of living up to negative expectations, and the importance of human connections. I'm always drawn to this book in the springtime, and I think I always will be, no matter how old I am. Readers of all ages will connect with this lovely story.
    • 4/5
      lovely story about the power of nature and nurture to restore and teach young and old
    • 3/5
      This is another classic I wanted to read because I liked the movie. And another one I put into my Classic TBR pile.

      Although I didn't enjoy it as much as the other classics I've read, it was still a cute little story. And I loved seeing her grow into a sweet, respectful little lady from that not so nice child she was all because she had something and someone to look forward to each and everyday.

      This story can be a lesson to many that if you give your children something to look forward to everyday that they enjoy doing, how will their behavior change for the better? If the children are in a more positive environment and have people around them that love them..How much better will their lives be? The change may take time but its possible for it to happen...That's what I get out of it anyway..

      And even though the adults didn't really want much to do with her or the other children in the beginning, she eventually got their views to change about her and the little boy she became friends with..

      I love the messaged more than anything in this story...That's part of the reason it didn't get less than a 3..And plus, how could I give a classic less than a 3?!?! :-)
    • 4/5
      A uplifting story of a sullen child who becomes a better person through finding and cultivating the garden of the title. The story is also about the redemption of at least two other characters. I wasn't clear why everyone was so afraid of Colin, initially a weak and helpless ten year old. Quite good to read as a counterbalance to some of the serious stuff I have been reading.
    • 3/5
      A really good read, and a classic, but not really my thing.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      SUMMARY - The Secret Garden is a wonderfull tale that will grab your attention and will not let it go until you finish the whole book. The Secret Garden is a story of a young girl living in British India during the Englosh control, who has been waited on hand and foot and must now go far away from India and live a completely different life. Mary Lennox leaves her home in India after the death of her father and mother who never really gave her any attention, and instead sent her away with all she desired, and plenty of native servant. Mistress Mary, quite contrary must now learn to dress herself and play in the open air. But mary's home isnt just an ordinary one, it is filled with secret rooms, secret deaths, secret people, and especially, a secret garden. Mary finds the key to a long shut down garden, and with not only unlocks the secrets of the Garden, but she also unlocks the secres of the Craven family. Mary spends her time there daily with a boy named Dickon, and the son of the much hated Archibald craven. Mary helps the Craven land, and it helps her. it seems this spoiled, lonely, pale girl from India, and this much forgotten old mansion are a perfect match!REVIEW - This classic by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one that never gets old. you really feel as if as you read it, you are unlocking the secrets of Mary's life. This is a story that can be enjoyed by all. I really enjoyed this book many times throughout my life. This is a must read. I feel that this story deserves at least four stars, and should be passed on. My highest recommendations for this story
    • 4/5
      As a child I had always adored the Warner Brothers live action adaptions of Frances Hodgson Burnett's most beloved duo (Secret Garden and Little Princess). I never read the books as a child (my time was devoted to Goosebumps and sci-fi/fantasy classics such as Journey to the Center of the Earth). When I read Little Princess as an adult I was very dismayed to find out how much was different and as I loved the movie so much, I could not forgive the book it's vast differences. I am exceptionally pleased to announce that the Secret Garden is almost exactly the same as the movie!!! Huzzah!!!It's as phenomenal as the movie I've adored for decades.
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      I felt betrayed, as I chose this book from a possible 3 (Bridge to Teribithia, From the Mixed-Up Files). I thought that this was going to be adventure and/or mystery, as it had the word "secret" in the title. I was terribly disappointed at how realistic and uneventful the story was. I kept thinking how much I would have preferred either of the other two.
    • 5/5
      The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; {acquired in my youth}; Y/A; (5*)I loved this book as a child, and it was so nice to revisit it as an adult. A perfect book to read on a cold, windy winter afternoon when nobody else is home. Your mind can escape to a lovely garden coming to life in the early spring. It inspired me to go for more walks no matter what the weather is like. I've read it to my children, to my grandchildren and hope to read it to my great grandchildren one day.The story is set in the early 1900’s in India and England. Mary's parents have both died so she must move to England to live with her uncle who mainly travels or lives as a recluse. There are quite a few characters to become accustomed to in this book. There is Mary, of course and Dickon who becomes her special friend. Then there is Colin, Martha, Ben Weatherstaff, Mr. Craven, Mrs. Medlock, Dr Craven and Susan Sowerby. I believe my favorite was Dickon because I found him so interesting and he had such a sweet nature.Mary finds a 'secret garden' that has been hidden away on the estate of her uncle for many, many years. Not having been cared for, it was quite overgrown and not very pretty. Mary wants to work in the garden caring for the plants and bringing it back to it's days of glory.This tale is a story for children of all ages from younger than school age to ninety. If you've not yet read it, I highly recommend it to you. It is a tale, that once read, you will hold close to your heart.
    • 5/5
      I love the word 'secret'. The way it rolls off the tongue, the way it means something that is hidden, something to keep all to yourself; then share with others… Who would not be intrigued by a secret? Anais Nin bought a house in Paris and was intrigued by a secret window - a fake window which was added to the front of the house for symmetry's sake but which could not be seen from the inside of the house. On holiday as a child the large old farmhouse we stayed in was all on one level, but there was a secret door, kept locked, that would have led to the upstairs… A secret sets the imagination rolling. Countless times I have read the book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson-Burnett... I watched the film again over the weekend. It is a fantastically well-drawn narrative, clever enough to pull together an inner and an outer journey into one simple story. The story begins in India during the early 1900s, when Mary Lennox is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven. Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. She finds a door that leads to a secret garden left neglected since the death of her aunt… she befriends the young brother of a staff maid called Dickon and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, her cousin Colin, who has been needlessly bed-ridden for years. Together the three children restore the neglected garden on the estate grounds. As the garden grows, the characters grow.  The metaphor used in this book is uncomplicated and yet so powerful. There is something universal about the use of nature is writing or poetry. We understand it because we are part of it. Life, death, light, dark and the changing of the seasons all reflected in our own lives. The closeness to nature and the importance of environment is one of the things I love about this story. I am also interested in the initial setting of the book in India, the India of the British Empire. My family on my Dad's side lived in this India. My Grandfather grew up in the Punjab. And I recognise this India in The Secret Garden… The main character Mary Lennox is all at once a child and a young woman, a little girl and a force - a catalyst. She is weak and strong, innocence and experience. In the film version, the character is exquisitely played by Kate Maberly. When Mary arrives at Misselthwaite Manor she is defiant and haughty in her speech and attitude and yet the body language she uses is that of a little girl afraid and unsure. This is excellent acting and portrays the layers of this character that are also evident in the book. Isn't this just how we all feel day to day? We like people to think we know what we are doing, to think we are sure and capable adults… but inside we are still children. I have an excellent childhood memory. I can remember my emotions and responses to situations and experiences from as early as age 2. I can still recognise that 2 year old in myself today. I am the same person inside and I will be that person when I am 80. In some ways The Secret Garden is also about learning to be that person, whatever age we are.
    • 5/5
      There are some books that every child must read, and this is one of them. And it is a great pleasure to continue to read this book again as an adult. The process of working in the soil and watching things grow, as children or adults, is the story celebrated in The Secret Garden. It reminds the reader why schools have playgrounds outdoors and what inspires so many people to explore this country's national parks. Is it no wonder that the man who discovered the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite Park, though diagnosed with a fatal illness before moving there, was able to live into his late 90's after living in a cabin among the Giant Sequoias? Frances Hodgson Burnett reminds each of us to reconnect with the living earth, thereby revitalizing ourselves and nurturing our souls.
    • 3/5
      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!!!
    • 4/5
      what small displaced child doesn't want "a bit of earth" to call her own?