From the Bookshelf of 2025 Reading Challenge…

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Start date: January 1, 2022

Finish date: January 31, 2022

Discussion: September 2025 Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: Featured Buddy Read for January
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What Members Thought

Jan 28, 2008 Ketutar Jensen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Fourth time reading... and the last.

"The morning that Dickon went behind a big rosebush and brought forth two tin pails and revealed that one was full of rich new milk with cream on the top of it, and that the other held cottage-made currant buns folded in a clean blue and white napkin, buns so carefully tucked in that they were still hot, there was a riot of surprised joyfulness. What a wonderful thing for Mrs. Sowerby to think of! What a kind, clever woman she must be! How good the buns were! Fourth time reading... and the last.

"The morning that Dickon went behind a big rosebush and brought forth two tin pails and revealed that one was full of rich new milk with cream on the top of it, and that the other held cottage-made currant buns folded in a clean blue and white napkin, buns so carefully tucked in that they were still hot, there was a riot of surprised joyfulness. What a wonderful thing for Mrs. Sowerby to think of! What a kind, clever woman she must be! How good the buns were! And what delicious fresh milk!

“Magic is in her just as it is in Dickon,” said Colin. “It makes her think of ways to do things—nice things. She is a Magic person. Tell her we are grateful, Dickon—extremely grateful.”

And then forgetting his grandeur he fell to and stuffed himself with buns and drank milk out of the pail in copious draughts in the manner of any hungry little boy who had been taking unusual exercise and breathing in moorland air and whose breakfast was more than two hours behind him.

This was the beginning of many agreeable incidents of the same kind. They actually awoke to the fact that as Mrs. Sowerby had fourteen people to provide food for she might not have enough to satisfy two extra appetites every day. So they asked her to let them send some of their shillings to buy things.

Dickon made the stimulating discovery that in the wood in the park outside the garden where Mary had first found him piping to the wild creatures there was a deep little hollow where you could build a sort of tiny oven with stones and roast potatoes and eggs in it. Roasted eggs were a previously unknown luxury and very hot potatoes with salt and fresh butter in them were fit for a woodland king—besides being deliciously satisfying. You could buy both potatoes and eggs and eat as many as you liked without feeling as if you were taking food out of the mouths of fourteen people."

Though... they were, kind of. And refusing the food in the Manor... yeah. Little brats. Now, you could think they were just 10, but still. I just can't deal with this.

Third time reading...

It is wonderful how differently one reads stories different times...
I am still fascinated by the 100 rooms, and Mary's relationship with the garden and the robin.
I had forgotten the "magic" part. The Secret :-D
I had also forgotten what an ass Colin was. "This is MY garden". Not "our". Not "Mary's". And just expecting everyone to support him in all his endeavors and ideas.
I had forgotten how witchy Mrs. Sowerby was.
And Dickon... he looked probably more like Sean Astin than all those handsome guys imagined by fan artists who ship Mary and Dickon (I do, too, BTW) :-D Nothing wrong with Sean Astin, just not your typical hot guy.
(About Mary+Dickon... the book was published 1910, so one might assume they were about 10 at that time, so they would be 20 at 20s, and then, maybe, be able to actually have a romantic relationship. But, but, no-one knows.) ...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Laura rated it liked it

I didn't read this book as a child, so read it for the first time to my daughter. There are overarching themes to like, but we occasionally found ourselves mired in the flowery prose. Sometimes the lengthy sentences and descriptions were almost like poetry, but at other times, we felt the book could have been edited a bit more. (Obviously this style is typical of early 20th century children's literature.) ...more

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Aug 24, 2008 Mickey added it

Shelves: childhood-favorites

Another child hood book fav of mine. This book made me ralize that there is always something there just beneath the surface. You just have to keep looking. It's there hiding. Great book. My favorite character was Dickens, that's becuase he could talk to the animals. ...more

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