The Secret Garden in 100 books to read before you die

Feb 02, 2013 Katy Kelly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A reread with my own child, an enduring classic for any child.

I must have read this as a child 25 years ago, and had been holding off reading it with my son, I remembered it as a little dated, hard to relate to, girl-centred. But after the 8-year-old came home raving about a theatre production of this at school, I seized the moment (and his enthusiasm) and we listened to the Librivox version of this in the car over a few weeks.

He instantly took to the characters and story, which surprised me, bu A reread with my own child, an enduring classic for any child.

I must have read this as a child 25 years ago, and had been holding off reading it with my son, I remembered it as a little dated, hard to relate to, girl-centred. But after the 8-year-old came home raving about a theatre production of this at school, I seized the moment (and his enthusiasm) and we listened to the Librivox version of this in the car over a few weeks.

He instantly took to the characters and story, which surprised me, but once the story took sallow little orphan Mary Lennox to Misselthwaite Manor in a very familiar Yorkshire, and we met Colin and Dickon, it did not feel obsolete or musty.

The story of two children, both spoiled and abandoned, who learn to love the world around them and see their own qualities and potential, really is a classic. It is the fresh air of the moors, the good, wholesome food, animals and more than anything, the natural world and its blossoming, that helps first Mary and then invalid Colin to pull themselves out of their self-obsessed, spiteful and sad little worlds.

As a grown up reader, I identified strongly with Mr Craven now, the mourning father, but could not help but feel for his abandoned son and niece, as they live their solitary lives which he allows his sorrow to take over his life and lands.

The metaphor of the garden is a strong one, as the friends/cousins are able to bring their own life out of the shadows as they do the long-lost flowers of the shut-up garden. The characters of Dickon (angelic indeed, with an accent that is easier to listen to than read on paper) and his fat-obsessed mother, Susan Sowerby, help the cousins on their way, but this is Colin and Mary's story. As an aside, the one element that modern children will find a little puzzling is the constant references to the weight and appearance of the thin pair: they need 'fattening up', they are 'growing fat'. Sadly, most children these days will see this as a negative thing most likely, though it is clearly meant to be positive, that they are gaining much-needed roundness and health... this is definitely a term that has difference meaning a hundred years on.

I loved seeing the spoiled pair gradually learn more acceptable behaviours, to discover friendship and shared goals. The language is perfectly accessible to a 21st-century reader (the only difficulty being the Yorkshire dialect, though we didn't find this as hard to listen to), the characters relatable and engaging.

There's a moving ending, a fair amount of pathos, character development, some wonderful imagery and a healthy dose of the natural world. We read this as Spring began to show its face, the perfect time of year to appreciate both the world waking up and this book.

Definitely a book for boys and girls alike to read, it is still relevant and readable. For ages 7-11. ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Rupin Chaudhry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

What is the secret garden. It is garden in only metaphorical sense rather it stands for mindset, the thoughts and the fruits they bear.
This might be a book for children but the lessons and moral are for all ages.
A must read for all.

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