Search results
- THERE IS NO ONE LEFT. When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen.
- MISTRESS MARY QUITE CONTRARY. Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone.
- ACROSS THE MOOR. She slept a long time, and when she awakened Mrs. Medlock had bought a lunchbasket at one of the stations and they had some chicken and cold beef and bread and butter and some hot tea.
- MARTHA. When she opened her eyes in the morning it was because a young housemaid had come into her room to light the fire and was kneeling on the hearth-rug raking out the cinders noisily.
Sep 1, 2005 · Read the copyright notice inside this book for details. 178 downloads in the last 30 days. Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by volunteers.
People also ask
Who is the author of the Secret Garden?
When was the Secret Garden adapted?
Why did Mary like the Secret Garden?
Can I copy or re-use the Secret Garden?
This is a copyrighted computer-generated audio performance of Project Gutenberg's public domain book, "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Please read the License before distributing this eBook. Free use and distribution is encouraged! It is available as a series of MP3 files, one file per chapter. 8812-000.mp3. 8812-001.mp3.
6 days ago · At its core, “The Secret Garden” follows the story of Mary Lennox, a sickly and neglected girl who discovers a hidden, neglected garden. As she nurtures the garden back to life, she experiences her own transformation. Along the way, she befriends Colin Craven, her equally troubled cousin, and Dickon Sowerby, a nature-loving local boy.
- Overview
- Summary
- Analysis and adaptations
The Secret Garden, novel for children written by American author Frances Hodgson Burnett and published in book form in 1911 (having previously been serialized in The American Magazine). The pastoral story of self-healing became a classic of children’s literature and is considered to be among Burnett’s best work.
The novel centres on Mary Lennox, who is living in India with her wealthy British family. She is a selfish and disagreeable 10-year-old girl who has been spoiled by her servants and neglected by her unloving parents. When a cholera epidemic kills her parents and the servants, Mary is orphaned. After a brief stay with the family of an English clergyman, she is sent to England to live with a widowed uncle, Archibald Craven, at his huge Yorkshire estate, Misselthwaite Manor. Her uncle is rarely at Misselthwaite, however. Mary is brought to the estate by the head housekeeper, the fastidious Mrs. Medlock, who shuts her into a room and tells her not to explore the house.
Britannica Quiz
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz
Mary is put off when she finds that the chambermaid, Martha, is not as servile as the servants in India. But she is intrigued by Martha’s stories about her own family, particularly those about her 12-year-old brother, Dickon, who has a nearly magical way with animals. When Martha mentions the late Mrs. Craven’s walled garden, which was locked 10 years earlier by the uncle upon his wife’s death, Mary is determined to find it. She spends the next few weeks wandering the grounds and talking to the elderly gardener, Ben Weatherstaff. One day, while following a friendly robin, Mary discovers an old key that she thinks may open the locked garden. Shortly thereafter, she spots the door in the garden wall, and she lets herself into the secret garden. She finds that it is overgrown with dormant rose bushes and vines (it is winter), but she spots some green shoots, and she begins clearing and weeding in that area.
This tale of transformation is an exaltation of nature and its effects on the human spirit. The physical and spiritual healing that Mary and Colin experience in the garden is mirrored in the seasons: it is winter when Mary discovers the garden; they begin working in spring and fully recover in summer; and Archibald Craven returns to find his son and the garden both healthy in the fall. In addition, Burnett’s interest in the theories of Christian Science and theosophy are reflected in the way that the children are healed, not only through contact with nature and with each other but also through positive thinking.
The Secret Garden was adapted for screen, television, and stage. The British Broadcasting Corporation aired three popular television adaptations (1952, 1960, and 1975). Notable film versions were produced in 1949 and in 1993 (with Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock), and the story was performed as a Broadway musical (1991–93).
Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!
Learn More
A short summary of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of The Secret Garden.
Project Gutenberg, 2004 - Children with disabilities A ten-year-old orphan comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors where she discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a...
