The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden is a timeless children’s classic that is perfect for kids big and small. Mary Lennox, a young English girl from India, loses both her parents to illness and comes into the care of her uncle Archibald Craven. When she arrives at his country mansion, she finds mysteries abound in her new home.
Frances Hodgson Burnett was an exceptional author who created the wonderful story of Mary, Dickon, and Colin. Although Mary isn’t exactly a likeable character in the beginning, as she learns to be self-sufficient and to care about others, she becomes a lovely child who everyone in the mansion can’t help but like. As Mary improves, she helps change Colin from the anxious, temperamental boy into a joyful child.
Mary and Colin needed each other, but they especially needed Dickon, the younger brother of Mary’s servant. He taught them to really appreciate the natural world and to believe in the magic around them. He helps Mary get Colin into the secret garden and he is the experienced hand at getting the garden back to its former glory after ten years of neglect.
The Secret Garden is about transformation. Not just in the garden and the children who live in the mansion, but Mary’s uncle as well. After the loss of his wife, Archibald not only locked up the garden, but he locked up his heart. He avoided visiting Colin because of the reminder of his wife. He spent months away from home for the same reason. But as Colin’s health improves, Archibald experiences an awakening of his own while travelling. When he is called back home by Dickon’s mother, he expects to find Colin worsening. So it’s an immense shock when Colin runs out of the secret garden and greets him. It was a wonderful way to end the book.
Burnett’s story awoke childlike wonder in me and I will carry this story in my heart for years to come.
The Secret Garden Rating: ★★★★★
Frances Hodgson Burnett was an exceptional author who created the wonderful story of Mary, Dickon, and Colin. Although Mary isn’t exactly a likeable character in the beginning, as she learns to be self-sufficient and to care about others, she becomes a lovely child who everyone in the mansion can’t help but like. As Mary improves, she helps change Colin from the anxious, temperamental boy into a joyful child.
Mary and Colin needed each other, but they especially needed Dickon, the younger brother of Mary’s servant. He taught them to really appreciate the natural world and to believe in the magic around them. He helps Mary get Colin into the secret garden and he is the experienced hand at getting the garden back to its former glory after ten years of neglect.
The Secret Garden is about transformation. Not just in the garden and the children who live in the mansion, but Mary’s uncle as well. After the loss of his wife, Archibald not only locked up the garden, but he locked up his heart. He avoided visiting Colin because of the reminder of his wife. He spent months away from home for the same reason. But as Colin’s health improves, Archibald experiences an awakening of his own while travelling. When he is called back home by Dickon’s mother, he expects to find Colin worsening. So it’s an immense shock when Colin runs out of the secret garden and greets him. It was a wonderful way to end the book.
Burnett’s story awoke childlike wonder in me and I will carry this story in my heart for years to come.
The Secret Garden Rating: ★★★★★