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The Secret Garden

4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 · rating details · 321,406 ratings · 6,752 reviews

What secrets lie behind the doors at Misselthwaite Manor? Recently arrived at her uncle's estate, orphaned Mary Lennox is spoiled, sickly, and certain she won't enjoy living there. Then she discovers the arched doorway into an overgrown garden, shut up since the death of her aunt ten years earlier. Mary soon begins transforming it into a thing of beauty--unaware that she i...more

Hardcover, 331 pages

Published September 1st 1998 by Children's Classics (first published 1911)

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Mar 10, 2011 Abigail rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Gardeners / Readers with a Taste for Sentimental Girls' Fiction

Shelves: childrens-fiction, literature-classics, frances-hodgson-burnett

Review Temporarily Removed.

32 likes · like · see review

Jun 24, 2012 K.D. Oliveros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to K.D. by: TFG Top 100 Favorite Books (2011)

Shelves: 501, childrens, tfg-100, classics, family-drama, fantasy

I am now confused. I do not know anymore what is my preference when it comes to books.

When I was a kid, I wanted to read only books with pictures like the illustrated "Alice in the Wonderland" or "Rip Van Winkle". Until I read "Silas Marner" with no pictures and I said, wow, books with no pictures are also great!

When I was a teenager, I said I don't like to read books that are hard to understand and read by adults until I read "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov and I said, wow, I did not know that th...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Gundula rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature, british-fiction, family-stories, classics, book-reviews, criticism-children

I first read this wonderful and evocative story at around age eleven (it was likely one of the first longer novels I read entirely in English). I simply adored The Secret Garden when I read it as a young teenager (or rather, a tween), I continued to love it when I reread it multiple times while at university, and I still loved the novel when I recently reread the story for the Children's Literature Group on Goodreads (and continue to love it).

I honestly think that I enjoyed The Secret Garden eve...more I first read this wonderful and evocative story at around age eleven (it was likely one of the first longer novels I read entirely in English). I simply adored The Secret Garden when I read it as a young teenager (or rather, a tween), I continued to love it when I reread it multiple times while at university, and I still loved the novel when I recently reread the story for the Children's Literature Group on Goodreads (and continue to love it).

I honestly think that I enjoyed The Secret Garden even more this time than the times I read the book when I was younger (and that is saying a lot). When I first read this book as a child, I was enchanted by the garden (and of course, the Robin), and I really liked and enjoyed reading about the Sowerbys, but I did kind of see both Mary and Colin as somewhat spoiled and selfish (I understood their problems and felt empathy, but I also felt a bit annoyed at and by them, something that I certainly did not experience as much during my recent reread). I believe that most, if not all of both Mary's and Colin's problems (be they emotional or physical) are the result of parental abandonment and emotional neglect (maybe even abuse). They act and react towards the world the way the world (or most of the world) has always acted and reacted towards them. And without the garden, but also without characters like Martha, Susan and Dickon Sowerby, without Ben Weatherstaff and the Robin, there would never have been any change in and for Mary (or not enough change), and by extension, there would never have been any change in and for Colin and his father.

One interesting and thought-provoking aspect of this novel is that there actually seems to be a real and almost palpable absence of nurturing father figures throughout (except maybe Dickon, but he is just a boy and in many ways resembles more a Pan-like nature deity, and Ben Weatherstaff really is too old and curmudgeonly to be considered nurturing and fatherly). We have nurturing mother figures portrayed who aid Mary, and later Colin in their recovery (Susan and Martha Sowerby, and even Mary becomes somewhat of a motherly figure towards Colin), but we never see or hear much about a Mr. Sowerby (he is a complete nonentity). And while much is made of the fact that Mary Lennox' mother did not seem to want her child (a fact that is rightfully criticised), the fact that Mr. Lennox did not trouble himself much about his daughter either, while mentioned briefly, is seemingly accepted (or at least more accepted). Also, while the fact that Mr. Craven has spiritually and emotionally abandoned Colin, and cannot stand to see him when he's awake because his son's eyes remind him of the boy's dead mother is noted in the novel, it is not (at least in my opinion) subject to the same criticism that Mary's emotional and spiritual abandonment by her mother is. I know that the death of Mr. Craven's wife was very traumatic for him, but both Mr. Carven's and Mrs. Lennox' actions, or rather their lack of love and acceptance towards their children have had horrible psychological consequences, basically turning both of them into emotional cripples, and Colin into a hysterical hypochondriac.

The Secret Garden clearly and lastingly demonstrates that children (no, anyone) can only show love, can only be lovable, if they have experienced love themselves. In the beginning of the novel, Mary is described as tyrannical, unpleasant, thoroughly "unlovable" and somewhat odd. But how can Mary know anything about love, if she has never experienced love? Her parents certainly do not seem to want her, and she has basically been abandoned to the care of servants, who have also been instructed to keep Mary out of the way (and in her innermost soul, Mary likely realises this and resents this). Mary's temper tantrums towards her Ayah and other servants, her desire to always get her own way, are not merely Mary imitating the behaviour she witnesses among the ex-pat community in India (although that likely also has a part to play). I believe in many ways, the servants act as representatives of her absent parents, and by lashing out at the servants, Mary is also lashing out at her careless, unloving, absent parents.

And even when Mary first arrives at Misselthwaite, there is still a real danger that she will never be able to change, to emerge out of her shell (or to change enough, for at least in England, Mary has the opportunity to go outside and play/run, which was not possible in India due to the hot, stiflingly humid climate); many of the inhabitants of the manor, but especially Mrs. Medlock and Mr. Craven regard Mary, or seem to regard Mary the same way that her parents did, either not at all, or as a cumbersome, even loathsome burden. Without Martha, Dickon, and the influence of Martha's mother (Mrs. Sowerby), and of course, Ben Weatherstaff and the Robin (who is a bird, but might represent the spirit of Colin's mother), not much would likely have changed for Mary or within Mary. There might have been some physical improvement of her health, but her mental health, her soul would have remained sour and disagreeable.

I have to admit that I do have a bit of a problem with the fact that so many of the adults in the novel (even people like Martha and Susan Sowerby) keep bringing up the fact that Mary's mother was supposedly very beautiful, and that in many ways, Mary is often judged negatively because she is plain, while her mother was considered very beautiful. However, Mary's mother does not care about her daughter, and had, in fact, never wanted a daughter; her careless, unloving attitude (and that of her husband as well) is reflected in Mary's countenance, her whole being. Thus, even though Mrs. Lennox might have been physically attractive, she basically has a careless and unloving (ugly) soul, which is reflected in her daughter (both spiritually and physically).

This "Norton Critical Edition" of The Secret Garden (which was published in 2006) is to be highly recommended, especially for anyone interested in both the novel (the narrative) and its historical contexts, diverse critical voices etc., as it provides not only the text proper (which is simply magical, of course), but also much supplemental information and materials about Frances Hodgson Burnett and her timeless literary classic. And although I do not think that this edition lists every piece of extant literary criticism on The Secret Garden, there is a goodly amount presented, as well as a good, although not extensive selected bibliography (a more than adequate starting point for serious academic research).(less)

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Sep 07, 2007 Todd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: parents

Shelves: classics

I know this book seems out of place among the fare I usually read, but hey, all I can say is that I like what I like. There is some intangible quality to this book that really strikes a chord in me. The whole idea of that sickly child being healed with love, attention, and (forgive me an LDS joke) wholesome recreational activities, just somehow speaks Truth to me. I think this book has strong application to today's problems with the rising generation. I really believe that kids these days are ge...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Tanu rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-lit, really-good, emotional-drama, short-and-sweet

Except for the persistent India bashing, I loved this book. In fact Mistress Mary, I loved the ending so much that I forgive your English superiority complex. Next time you visit here though, allow me to take you on the ride across India, I hope your impression will change

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Jun 29, 2008 Alison rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: gardeners; children

I seem to be the only woman I know who didn't read and cherish this book as a child. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about...

It took me a while to get in step with the tone of this book. The beginning was Jane Eyre-lite...Mary is orphaned and sent from India to England to live with her uncle, a stranger to her. The story progresses...and then....Mary's talking to a robin, and he's showing her where buried keys are. At that point, the mood shifted, and I sat back to enjoy not a literary...more

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Sep 05, 2011 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 5 of 5 stars

This read was, of course, a re-read. I wore out the copy I had as a child, with its lovely illustrations by Tasha Tudor. What's interesting is what a different, but still marvelous, experience it is, reading it again almost 4 decades later. I didn't remember the beginning bit taking place in India. I could've sworn Mary visited, and brought gifts to, Martha's family's cottage. I didn't remember the ending being so abrupt.

Oddly enough, my 'favorite' bit was learning about how to tell if trees and...more

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Oct 06, 2009 e.c.h.a rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Momo Ivashkov

Recommended to e.c.h.a by: miaaa

Shelves: children, tak-lekang-dimakan-zaman, fiksi, milik-sendiri, persahabatan, favorites

Apa yang tersembunyi dalam "Taman Rahasia" sehingga bisa membuat Mary dan Collin berubah secara drastis? Benarkah magic? Mungkin itu yang dipikirkan oleh anak-anak seusia Collin dan Mary, anak-anak yang punya dunianya sendiri. Dengan dibantu oleh Dickon, seorang anak berusia 12 tahun yang mencintai alam dan dicintai alam. Yang memberikan pandangan-pandangan lain terhadap Mary & Collin.

Musim semi, musim yang selalu di identikkan dengan kehidupan yang baru, awal mula suatu kehidupan. Tunas-tu...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Jacquelyn Higgins rated it 5 of 5 stars

Genre: Historical fiction Reading level: Ages 9-12
Want to know the Secret? This book was written almost a century before Byrne and Oprah shared their version. The garden is only the beginning of the story of a brat, orphaned in India, who moves to huge lonely house in Yorkshire, England. It isn’t only the wind that haunts the moors, but the wails of her tyrant cousin. With the help of a local family, the two children learn to heal their bodies and minds with fresh air, exercise, and a little man...more

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Feb 12, 2012 rinabeana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I reread this book for a book club and it was such a wonderful trip down memory lane. I don't think I've read it since I was a child, but I could never forget the story. I love that Burnett told the story in such a matter-of-fact way. I found it interesting that she didn't seem to take a stance on how the children acted. When she described Mary's thoughts and actions (especially at the beginning), she simply stated that Mary behaved so because she hadn't been taught to behave otherwise. Getting...more

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Aug 17, 2007 Ngoc rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, childrens-youngadult, favorites

Secret Garden is one of my absolute favorite books ever. I don't even know how to describe my love of this book. Maybe because I am a bit contrary (Mary, Mary, quite contrary).

I love imaginating all of the scenes in the story: the vast moors, the lonely house, the lifeless gardens. I don't think I could relate to Mary because I didn't have a lonely childhood: I had friends and sisters and a loving family, but I did was very much captivated by her. Maybe I loved imagining being in that big house...more

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Dec 19, 2010 Harun Harahap rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: punya, anak-hingga-remaja, fiksi, terjemahan

”Buang jauh-jauh pikiran buruk!”

Kalimat di atas sering kita dengar dan baca, khususnya di buku-buku pengembangan diri. Buku ini yang memuat kisah sederhana tentang persahabatan anak-anak pun menawarkan pesan yang sama. Tapi kisah indah ini lebih mudah untuk diresapi bahkan dinikmati.

Jika pikiran kita selalu disesaki segala hal yang buruk dan negatif, maka awan yang berarak indah di langit pun dilihat sebagai kumpulan awal yang membosankan. Sebaliknya, jika kita terus berpikiran positif, kesialan...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Simon rated it 3 of 5 stars

****SPOILERS****

OK, I must have read and loved this book 40 or so years ago. (Yikes!) I liked it a lot this time round, but it was troubling to me in several ways. It starts off as the story of Mary, a girl suffering from epic neglect. (Her entire household in Colonial India, parents, servants, everyone, die from cholera or flee the house with no-one bothering to think about her, leaving her alone, not knowing what's happening, if anyone is there, scavenging for food from unfinished meals on the...more ****SPOILERS****

OK, I must have read and loved this book 40 or so years ago. (Yikes!) I liked it a lot this time round, but it was troubling to me in several ways. It starts off as the story of Mary, a girl suffering from epic neglect. (Her entire household in Colonial India, parents, servants, everyone, die from cholera or flee the house with no-one bothering to think about her, leaving her alone, not knowing what's happening, if anyone is there, scavenging for food from unfinished meals on the table. How's that for a brutal opening of a (children's) novel?) The description of her neglect is so clear and strong that one cannot help but feel that the author must feel some sympathy for her character, but amazingly, she dwells on her unpleasantness to such an extent that one can't be sure she isn't censuring her strongly.

Well, it starts off as Mary's story, and one is prepared for the 'coming alive' she is going to experience, when.... the damn thing gets hijacked by Colin, a little boy at her uncle's house in Yorkshire (where she is sent) who is her male counterpart, his mother dead at or near his birth, shunned by his self-absorbed father, loathed by the army of nurses and doctors over whom he rules tyrannically by virtue of their desire to prevent his tantrums.

Well, it's hijacked by Colin, but it's hijacked again, right at the very end, by Colin's father whose own unpleasantness, though less obvious than Colin's and Mary's, is certainly more culpable in that his began in adulthood and led him simply to forget the existence of his son. But, happily, through Mary's work on Colin, and Colin's own working of what he calls Magic, the paterfamilias and his male heir are finally restored to happiness, Mary entirely forgotten.

And there's Dickon, the young peasant boy who is the symbol of the healing powers of nature. He absolves the function of the Magic Negro here, an oppressed outsider (by virtue of class here, not race) whose wisdom and power is harnessed by, and makes his (and his family's) poverty somehow less awful to, the ruling class. His fate, after the novel, was almost certainly to be killed in the trenches of Flanders, probably as Colin's batman. (Colin's right to order everyone around, Dickon, Mary, the old gardener Ben Weatherstaff, the doctor, is never questioned.)

And the Magic! Obviously there's a lot of good sense in Burnett's views about health and happiness - nature, care for animals and plants, eating well, fresh air and exercise, but there's a new-agey self-help side to it that gets a bit nauseous: repeating over and over to yourself "yes, I can," having one good thought a day, etc. etc.(less)

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Dec 25, 2012 Zulfy Rahendra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: terjemahan, childhood, me-mine, classic

Yang saya pikirkan ketika selesai membaca ini adalah, "apakah anak-anak indonesia sekarang udah baca buku ini? Buku ini amat sangat teramat jauh lebih layak dibaca dan mendidik dibandingkan nonton Coboy Junior nyanyi di tipi." *aiiiihh, seorang upi mikirin masalah tumbuh kembang anak bangsa!!* *kemudian dirukiyah* *okey, ini efek liat bocah 5 taun ngamuk-ngamuk karena ibunya mindahin channel tipi yang nayangin Coboy Junior* *Oh God Why* *saya ga akan membesarkan anak saya di indonesia* *ah belag...more Yang saya pikirkan ketika selesai membaca ini adalah, "apakah anak-anak indonesia sekarang udah baca buku ini? Buku ini amat sangat teramat jauh lebih layak dibaca dan mendidik dibandingkan nonton Coboy Junior nyanyi di tipi." *aiiiihh, seorang upi mikirin masalah tumbuh kembang anak bangsa!!* *kemudian dirukiyah* *okey, ini efek liat bocah 5 taun ngamuk-ngamuk karena ibunya mindahin channel tipi yang nayangin Coboy Junior* *Oh God Why* *saya ga akan membesarkan anak saya di indonesia* *ah belagu lu pi! Emang mau kemana? Punya duit? Boro-boro duit, pacar aja ga punya. Udah sok-sok ngomongin anak* *aaaaaakk!! Shut up!*

Diklaim sebagai "salah satu novel anak terbaik sepanjang masa" (yang dicetak gede di covernya), novel ini ga mengecewakan saya. Cerita tentang gadis kecil pembangkang dan bocah penyakitan yang manja serta bagaimana "sihir" dari sebuah taman rahasia dan "peri-hutan" yang ceria mengubah mereka menjadi anak-anak yang manis dan menyenangkan, memang bacaan yang baik buat anak kecil. Banyak pesan moral yang bisa diambil dari buku ini, buat anak kecil. Buat para ibu, Mrs Susan Sowerby mungkin bisa jadi contoh ibu yang baik :). Dan buat siapapun yang udah bukan anak-anak dan belom punya anak, novel ini akan mengingatkan kita kepada masa kecil kita yang bahagia-dan-tanpa-beban itu. Punya rahasia sama temen, berantem khas bocah, maen tanah, maen masak-masakan pake daun-daunan, lari-lari di kebon tetangga, ngutil mangga (eh itu mah saya aja deh). Ahh betapa kasian anak-anak sekarang jarang ada yang bisa menikmati itu.. *mengutuk keberadaan gadget* *eh ga jadi, ga jadi*

Pesan yang ingin disampaikan buku ini sebenarnya sederhana dan mungkin agak basi (karena udah sering dicoba disampaikan dengan seribu cara). Tapi entahlah, pesannya nyampe kok ke saya (dibandingkan kalo disampaikan sama akun-akun twitter kayak @penyembuhanhati @katabijak dan sejenisnya #NyinyirDetected). Tentang bagaimana hidup kita itu sangat bergantung dari cara pandang kita terhadap hidup itu sendiri. Kalo kita berpikir positif, ya kita juga bakalan ngedapetin hal-hal positif dan lebih bahagia *agak Mario Teguh gimana gitu ya?* *demen amat sih pi sama Mario Teguh* *diam-diam ngefans* Ya mungkin karena ini buku anak, jadi penyampaian pesannya lebih manis dan mudah diterima. Jadinya saya suka-suka aja. Berasa anak kecil dinasehatin neneknya gitu, bukan berasa orang depresi disemangatin motivator ;P

Detil-detil di ceritanya sangat mengesankan keklasikkan novel ini (ga bisa jelasinnya), dan kisahnya emang indah banget, jelas. Sederhana tapi menyentuh. Dengan ending yang juga sangat manis. Settingnya juga indaaaaaahh *ngebayangin*. Rumah tua di pedesaan inggris (pedesaan inggris!! :3) dikelilingin padang kerangas (naon sih padang kerangas teh?), dengan taman-taman penuh bunga dan hewan liar yang jinak. Aduuuuuuhh..... ingiiiiiinn... *brb jual organ tubuh buat beli tanah di pedesaan inggris* *eh amit amit*

Sebenernya saya pengen banget novel ini yang covernya cokelat itu. Yang ada cap merahnya kayak segel surat jaman dulu itu (pengen nyisipin gambar link cover edisi itu tapi ga bisa ;P caranya gimana sih? #ForeverNewbie). Klasik banget itu kan yah. Suka! Suka!! Namun apalah daya. Novel ini aja dapet dari kembalian sebuah PO. Hehehehehe...

Dan yang pertama saya lakukan setelah selesai membaca ini adalah: sms ade minta dicariin filmnya di indowebster ;P #ForeverPirates(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Michiyo 'jia' Fujiwara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-series, the-classic-novel-by-gra, historical-fiction, european-literature, fantasy

Dari dua karya Frances Hodgson Burnett yang sudah kubaca, penilaianku; A Little Princess adalah karyanya yang terbaik dan The Secret Garden tentu saja karyanya yang membuatnya terkenal..

Masih terkenang-kenang akan baiknya kepribadian Sara Crewe (mirip dengan Cinderella), kali ini Miss. Burnett menampilkan tokoh utama yang berbeda 180 derajat dari Sara Crewe..si anak bermuka masam dan amat pemarah..Mary Lennox..ujung pangkal kepribadiannya yang pemarah ini karena Mary tidak pernah diberikan perha...more Dari dua karya Frances Hodgson Burnett yang sudah kubaca, penilaianku; A Little Princess adalah karyanya yang terbaik dan The Secret Garden tentu saja karyanya yang membuatnya terkenal..

Masih terkenang-kenang akan baiknya kepribadian Sara Crewe (mirip dengan Cinderella), kali ini Miss. Burnett menampilkan tokoh utama yang berbeda 180 derajat dari Sara Crewe..si anak bermuka masam dan amat pemarah..Mary Lennox..ujung pangkal kepribadiannya yang pemarah ini karena Mary tidak pernah diberikan perhatian dan kasih sayang dari kedua orangtuanya..lebih lagi tidak adanya kasih sayang dari sang Ibu (Ibu Mary kecewa ketika melahirkan anak perempuan, padahal yang ia inginkan adalah anak laki-laki), sejak ia dilahirkan sampai berumur 10 tahun adalah sepenuhnya berada ditangan pengasuhnya, yang terus memanjakan dan mengabulkan segala keinginannya..hal inilah yang membentuk kepribadian buruk Mary..sampai pada satu saat..Wabah melanda tempat tinggalnya di India..menyebabkan kedua orangtuanya meninggal beserta seluruh pekerja dan pengasuh Mary..hingga tinggal Mary..hidup seorang diri..sampai ada seseorang yang masuk ke kediaman keluarga Mary..terkejutlah ia menemukan seorang anak perempuan yang masih bertahan hidup sendirian..!!

Kisah Mary berlanjut..dia pergi ke Inggris dan lewat taman Mr. Craven ini-lah petualangan barunya dimulai..bertemu dengan Dickon (adik laki-laki Martha, pengasuh Mary)..secara berlahan-lahan kepribadian buruknya hilang..Mary berubah menjadi anak yang periang, Dickon yang mempunyai keahlian dapat mengerti tingkah laku hewan..banyak mengajarkan Mary mengenai banyak Hal..sampai pada saat tak terduga Mary menemukan sebuah kunci yang dapat membuka sebuah taman rahasia..

Lewat taman rahasia..ada persahabatan dan nilai dari sebuah kehidupan..dan lewat taman rahasia-lah..bisa mengubah jalan hidup, paling tidak untuk kedua anak ini ; Mary Lennox dan Colin Craven..kedua-nya sama-sama kehilangan kasih sayang dari orangtuanya..tapi mereka mau berubah dan lewat keteguhan hati dan ketekunanan (mereka bertiga memperbaiki dan memperindah taman rahasia yang mereka temukan)..mereka dapatkan kebahagiaan sejati..

Sedikit Catatanku;
Bermain adalah dunia mereka..dunia anak-anak..jadi ingat masa kecilku, yang sama seperti Mary dan teman-temanya..bermain dipadang luas..apakah anak-anak sekarang (terutama di daerah perkotaan) juga dapat merasakannya?? Bermain lepas..bukan permainan yang membatasi hanya dengan kedua ibu jari mereka..

Mengenai terjemahan dalam buku ini semuanya..dapat termaafkan!! Semuanya telah termaafkan.. Walaupun jujur aku agak rewel dengan penggunaan kata ‘padang kerangas’(ini bukan kata yang populer kan!!/ seumur hidup baru dengar, yaa lewat buku ini)..yang sampai sekarang belum juga aku mengerti apa maksud arti kata ini..secara keseluruhan isi buku ini..bagus!! tapi seperti yang aku sebutkan diawal..yang terbaik adalah; A Little Princess...!! titik
(less)

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Jul 06, 2011 Jason rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Kids lit

Recommended to Jason by: Mama

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. "I'm so happy I could shit." -Chip Sutphin from Serial Mom. That about sums up the feeling I had while reading a lot of this book. And although Beverly Sutphin doesn't like the brown word, I can't think of another phrase that describes it better. This is another feel-good children's book that leaves me in a good mood after I'm done reading it, but it isn't sickeningly sweet (like Pollyanna). It's rather tastefully done.

I've seen three movie adaptations and an off-Broadway play version, and none...more "I'm so happy I could shit." -Chip Sutphin from Serial Mom. That about sums up the feeling I had while reading a lot of this book. And although Beverly Sutphin doesn't like the brown word, I can't think of another phrase that describes it better. This is another feel-good children's book that leaves me in a good mood after I'm done reading it, but it isn't sickeningly sweet (like Pollyanna). It's rather tastefully done.

I've seen three movie adaptations and an off-Broadway play version, and none of them get it quite right, or at least they took some liberties with the book. I can understand though. There was a lack of tension in the book, and while that can work just fine with literature, it never translates well to a two hour show.

Everyone knows the story: Mary Lennox is a spoiled little 10 year old bitch who lives in India. Her parents die, she moves to England to live with her Uncle who wants nothing to do with her. Neither does Mrs. Medlock the housekeeper or any of the other staff. Bored, Mary pokes around, finds an abandoned hidden garden, meets a boy named Dickon who is good with animals and plants, and together they plant stuff and make it all gardeny again. At night Mary hears crying, and discovers her Uncle's son Colin who is also 10. He's a hypochondriac with authority, he can't walk, throws tantrums, hates everything, etc... Colin and Mary start to hang out, and fight sometimes, and they help each other become better people. Eventually she wheels him out to the Garden which they keep secret from the staff, he gets better, starts to learn to walk, they do chanting voodoo stuff, and eventually his father comes home, sees him walking, everyone does happy crying, and that's the end. I may have left out a few things, but what's the point in telling all; you wouldn't want to read the book, and I highly recommend it.

One thing I liked about the book is one of the last chapters where the point of view is from the Robin that lives in the garden. He doesn't understand the silly stuff that humans do, and comments on it. Nothing spectacular there, just a nice touch.

Some things that surprised me: Mrs. Medlock is nowhere near as mean in the book as she is in every movie version I've seen, but I wouldn't change Maggie Smith's interpretation of her at all. (I'm a Maggie Smith fan). Dickon is much more happy-go-lucky than his Hallmark movie version. The fight between Mary and Colin is nowhere near as dramatic as the 1949 version of the movie where they're throwing tables and chairs, and anything else they can get their hands on, all over the room. In fact, the tantrum scene is rather dull in the book. Colin is brought up short quick, and we find some other things that make sense. The nurse/doctor/staff members/etc didn't know of Colin's private fears that he was going to turn into a hunchback like his father; he kept that and some other things to himself. In the movies everyone knows that he thinks this, and they indulge him no matter how stupid it is. This adds an element of internal fear for the character, and I can buy that much better than the alternative. Another nice touch.

The play contains a couple of very weird mumbo jumbo voodoo chanting scenes, and I just thought it was broadway being all frou-frou the way they get sometimes, but it turns out that that kind of thing is in the book too. Who knew? It wasn't as weird in the book as it was in the play, but I'm glad to know that scene had a basis from which to draw and wasn't just made up for the sake of making it up.

This book made me want to get back out into the garden, and grow things, but it's hot and humid where I live, so fuck that. Perhaps if it had been a five star book I'd feel more inclined to go play in the dirt, but alas, I'm giving it only four (which is still a very good rating).(less)

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Jan 08, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Mistress Mary, your looks are quite contrary....

There is very little that I recall of this novel, as it has been years since I have last laid fingers on this popular tale. But what I do remember of it...

Mary is a bratty, sour-spirited child who is shipped back to England when her ever-delinquent parents die in cruel India. There she is kept under the wing of a likewise inconsiderate uncle, in his gothic castle, wherein she grows deathly bored inside, and her adventuring leads her to an astoundi...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Kaion rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: seen-adapt, cont-historical, feminism, favorites

Rereading childhood favorites, you always run the risk corrupting that memory with adult judgment- but it's usually worth that risk for the flip-side... I hadn't read The Secret Garden in years, and it still simply doesn't disappoint.

On this rereading, I was really struck by the fact that it functions well as a wonderfully inverted subversive Sleeping Beauty* tale. The prince is a sickly-looking, cross girl who well earns her 'Mistress Mary Quite Contrary' . And the princess is a tantrum-throwin...more

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Aug 16, 2008 Michele rated it 4 of 5 stars

When my youngest daughter saw me reading this, she scoffed, "You haven't read that? I've read it AND seen the movie!" Guess I'm falling behind! When I first considered reading this (on the syllabus of a course I'm auditing) I seriously considered just not reading it and skipping the class when it would be discussed (ah! the beauties of auditing!). But I'm glad I didn't.

There's a lot of stuff going on in this text that I ended up finding fascinating. For one thing, it led me to investigate some c...more When my youngest daughter saw me reading this, she scoffed, "You haven't read that? I've read it AND seen the movie!" Guess I'm falling behind! When I first considered reading this (on the syllabus of a course I'm auditing) I seriously considered just not reading it and skipping the class when it would be discussed (ah! the beauties of auditing!). But I'm glad I didn't.

There's a lot of stuff going on in this text that I ended up finding fascinating. For one thing, it led me to investigate some children's lit theory, which is something new for me. But it also employs these children and their garden in ways that allow for subtle critique and commentary on the construction of Englishness and the endless contradistinction between the rural and urban (or urbane in this case).

One of the things I've learnt (and yes, it may seem self-evident, but I never really thought of it before) by reading about kids lit is that most children's literature is non-experimental, both in its form and its ideas (most). In other words, if an idea/moral/value pops up in a children's book, then it is probably fairly mainstream. There are children's books that are written with an agenda or polemic that don't fall into this kind of category, but these books are usually all about whatever it is that they're trying to make a point about: blended families, diversity, changing definitions of family, identity politics (teens) etc. When an idea pops up in a children's book that isn't ostensibly about that idea, then you can be pretty sure it's mainstream.

For example, in this novel, there is a distinct connection made between the 'unhealthy' atmosphere of India, and the 'healthy' climate on the English countryside. It's a given. Also, (and slightly disturbing) is the emphasis on the novel on the boy, Colin, at the end. The novel begins with Mary's story, but once she has become healthy enough to find both the secret garden and Colin (and tell Colin about the garden), she fades into the background, her role is complete. Says a lot about patriarchal assumptions of mastery and place from what I can see.

But it's also a fun little book of kids being kids, playing around with each other and discovering life. And of course it has a strong 'useless adult' fantasy in which the kids constantly out think and out manouevre the adults in the book (who I suspect really aren't quite as dumb as they're made out to be).(less)

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May 12, 2008 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: gothic, classic, childrens, made-into-a-movie, everyone-loves-except-for-me, 2008-books-read

I guess I didn't miss much by not reading this book as a child. I don't really understand why it became a classic. It starts out interestingly enough with a very gothic setting. A little British girl named Mary survives a cholera epidemic in India and is sent to Yorkshire to live with her distant relatives. The author gives a vivid description of the beauty of the moors and the mysterious mansion that the girl goes to live in. The only other interesting part is really when Mary discovers the boy...more

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Apr 23, 2008 Cati rated it 4 of 5 stars

English 425 Submitter’s name _Cati Howard
Book Bank Book Bank subject: _my favorite book___

Reference information:
Title The Secret Garden
Author Frances Hodgson Burnett
Publisher J.B. Linppincott Company Year 1911
# of pages 256 Genre drama
Reading level 4.5 Interest level 9-12 years old
Potential hot lava:
None to speak of except that there are references to death throughout the story. Children who have issues dealing with mortality should be monitored when reading this.

General response/reaction:
I l...more

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Mar 04, 2008 Rebecca Burch rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone, especially young girls.

Recommended to Rebecca by: my Mom

Shelves: favorites

This is my favorite book, ever! My Mom made me read it as a kid, and I really didn't want to. I put it off and put it off, and finally decided to just suck it up and read it. I think it took 10 pages for me to get completely hooked.

I think I loved the book so much because it was all about bringing about life and growth through love. All the main characters are sort of "forgotten" in some way or another, and they go on this adventure when Mary finds a key to a secret, walled garden. The garden ha...more

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Apr 24, 2008 Yulia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mini-me

Silly me, I looked through all the editions to find the one I grew up with, but had no luck. But this is what I wrote about it a few months ago:

In the third grade, I would have been hopelessly overwhelmed by my reading assignments had my father not offered to help by reading aloud every other chapter to me and having me read him the rest. We did this in the bedroom, as my mother openly complained how he made a travesty of the English language, with his Russian accent and his putting stress on th...more

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Nov 08, 2009 May rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: children (but if adults would want to read it too, I don't think there would be any problem)

Shelves: literature-for-children-classic

My second classic (if I remember correctly, my first was "The Odyssey," but sadly, I can't remember the ISBN of THE book 'coz I read it when I was in Grade 3 - or was it 4? Too bad, though, 'coz I really would want to have a copy of that particular book and go through it again *sighs*). Anyway, back to the Secret Garden, I'll tell you a little "secret": I was REALLY digging for Dickon and Mary. Dickon is more sensible than Colin. More fun, too. I mean, he can tame animals, right?

Generally speaki...more

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Sep 14, 2007 Briynne rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was looking through Sarah Gransee's books and happened across this one. I loved this book as a child! It was one of the books I had from my mother's childhood collection, including others like The Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, and the tales of Arabian Nights. I have such fond memories of this book, and remember very distinctly wishing for my own hidden garden. I love books like this, where I hardly remember the plot, but I remember the feel of reading the book like it was last month ra...more

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May 21, 2012 Melody rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comfort-read, heard, favorites

I was pleased nearly beyond measure when I saw this audio on my library's list. I love listening to books as I fall asleep. It's difficult to listen to new books, though, as I lose track of my place. Books I know and love are what I like best for bedtime, and this is a book I know nearly by heart.

Revisiting it now, I find it prefigures so many of my other favorites- I hear echoes of Roethke, I see a glimpse of Sam Gamgee in his old age, I think of Alec Ramsey in his heady rush of freedom riding...more I was pleased nearly beyond measure when I saw this audio on my library's list. I love listening to books as I fall asleep. It's difficult to listen to new books, though, as I lose track of my place. Books I know and love are what I like best for bedtime, and this is a book I know nearly by heart.

Revisiting it now, I find it prefigures so many of my other favorites- I hear echoes of Roethke, I see a glimpse of Sam Gamgee in his old age, I think of Alec Ramsey in his heady rush of freedom riding a wild stallion into his future, I see Emily Webb trying to talk to the living, and young Gerry Durrell peering into the heart of a rose to see the spider change color.

I found this book so long ago I have no memory of a time I didn't know it. My childhood was full of gardens, and I yearned for a secret garden of my own. I found the loving descriptions of weeding and pruning comforting and full of continuity. I loved watching the waking of the garden and of Mary and Colin.

One of the things I love most about this book is the way in which it lovingly delineates all the different ways the characters come alive. That's one of the things that makes it timeless- I could read it at 9 and identify with Mary, at 14 with Dickon, at 30 with Susan. Now, it's Ben Weatherstaff, marveling at the springing life and beauty around him, failing utterly to hold back tears and wearing a grumpy face despite his soaring heart.

Perhaps of my favorite passage, one that springs to mind when I'm slack-jawed and full of wonder, often in the garden:

"One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun–which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in some one’s eyes."(less)

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Jan 15, 2009 Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this book about every five years or so. For me it captures the sense of secrecey that hides much more than a garden...the inner workings of a child's mind, that adults have no clue about! I am also reminded that the same is true for many adults, myself included. After reading this book, I always feel a renewed sense of commitment to getting to know poeple beyond the public surface and letting more people see the real me.

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Oct 18, 2012 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is definitely a solid like. Almost love - really really close. I've been familiar with the story for as long as I can remember, having watched the 90s movie version many times as a kid. So it's a story I love, but this was my first time experiencing the original. At first I was kind of put off by the writing - the voice is a bit off or quirky somehow, just not quite right with the sentence structure and word choice, especially in the dialogue. But after getting used to it, it seemed more en...more

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May 11, 2012 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-favourite-books

I read this children’s book over two decades ago and whenever people ask me what my favourite book is, or which childhood book has always stayed with me, I always name this one. As a child, books were my escape as I lived in Kuwait, a hot desert country where the landscapes are pale yellow and its hot and dry all the time. I stayed indoors quite a lot, reading. The Secret Garden immediately attracted me and for the time I was reading it I was transported to British greenery, I heard the wind on...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Elinor Loredan rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the main merits of this book, to me, is that it is simply told. Burnett doesn't try to put too many flourishes into it or sound really profound, and yet her writing is powerful in its very simplicity. It stays in my mind.
I really like the recurring motifs as well: that people greatly benefit from being out in the open air enjoying nature, and from engaging in tasks that they enjoy and gain a sense satisfaction from, like gardening for Mary. Another one that stands out is that spoiled chi...more

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About Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Eliza Hodgson was the daughter of ironmonger Edwin Hodgson, who died three years after her birth, and his wife Eliza Boond. She was educated at The Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentleman until the age of fifteen, at which point the family ironmongery, then being run by her mother, failed, and the family emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee. Here Hodgson began to write, in order to sup...more

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“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” — 438 people liked it

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