The Secret Garden

Mary Lennox likes nobody, and nobody likes her. When her parents die in India and she's shipped back to England to live with her reclusive uncle, it seems her loneliness will only deepen. Spoiled and unfriendly, she keeps everyone at a distance. And anyway who would she be friends with? With Mary seemingly the only child in a huge manor house, it appears that nothing will change.That is, until Martha the maid sends her out into the grounds, and she finds a locked garden gate. As winter turns to spring, Mary finds her way into the secret garden; she meets Dickon, the boy with a tame wild pony and a tame fox; and her own cousin Colin, a sickly, bedbound boy who has never walked. Together they will bring the garden back to life, along with Mary's heart. And as flowers bloom and the sun and fresh air strengthen Colin's limbs, the magic of the secret garden, the magic that Mary unlocked, brings newfound happiness to everyone in the house.A classic of children's literature, beloved for over a century, this is one of the great stories of the human need for love, and the solace to be found in nature.



Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was born in Manchester and moved to America in her teens, when her family fell on hard times. She began writing around the same time, publishing stories in magazines and helping to keep the household afloat with the money she earned. As well as her beloved novels for children, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess and Little Lord Fauntleroy, she wrote stage plays and novels for adults. Twice married and twice divorced, she had two sons and lived in Paris and Washington, DC, before settling in upstate New York, where she died.