Authouress: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Illustrated by: M. L. Kirk (US), Charles Robinson (UK)
Language: English
Publisher: Frederick A. Stokes (US), William Heinemann (UK)
ISBN: 978-1514665954
Content: Youth

Review: The story begins at the turn of the 20th century, Mary Lennox, a young girl growing up in India, is neglected and unloved 10-year-old girl. Born in British India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her and made an effort to ignore her, she is cared for primarily by native servants, who allow her to become spoilt, demanding and self-centred. It's after a cholera epidemic kills Mary's parents, the few surviving servants flee the house without Mary.

She is discovered by British soldiers who place her in the temporary care of an English clergyman, whose children taunt her by calling her "Mistress Mary, quite contrary." She is soon sent to England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, whom her father's sister Lilias married. He lives on the Yorkshire Moors in a large English country house, Misselthwaite Manor. When escorted to Misselthwaite by the housekeeper Mrs Medlock, she discovers Lilias Craven is dead and that Mr Craven is a hunchback.

At first, Mary is as sour and rude as ever. She dislikes her new home, the people living in it and, most of all, the bleak moor on which it sits. Over time, she becomes less temperamental and befriends her maid, Martha Sowerby, who tells Mary about Lilias, who would spend hours in a private walled garden growing roses. Lilias Craven died after an accident in the garden ten years prior, and the devastated Archibald locked the garden and buried the key.

Mary becomes interested in finding the secret garden herself, and her ill manners begin to soften as a result. Soon, she comes to enjoy the company of Martha, the gardener Ben Weatherstaff and a friendly robin redbreast. Her health and attitude improve with the bracing Yorkshire air, and she grows stronger as she explores the estate gardens. Mary wonders about the secret garden and about mysterious cries that echo through the house at night.

Mary over time meets a range of characters that each add to her slowly growing confidence and curiosity with the world around her. In some ways we may consider there is a link or relationship between Mary's early life of neglect and the secret garden that also had been neglected. We can see how helping the garden was also instrumental in helping heal Mary herself. This is a poignant and wonderful story. With characters that are relatable and full of hope and aspirations. Time has not diminished the wonder and appeal the book has with readers of all ages.

MJ Flack