The Secret Garden

Story

Orphaned Mary Lennox is a bitter girl, taken in by her uncle, who is frequently away on business. It is a lonely existence in his gloomy mansion, until she meets her servants’ brother, Dickon, and her angry cousin, Colin. They embark on an adventure of discovery and find an abandoned secret garden, but are forbidden entry. Secretly, they start restoring the garden, and find they grow along with it.

Why we chose it

A classic story written over a century ago but still read and enjoyed by children today.

Where it came from

The Secret Garden came to life in a real English rose garden, one of the many walled gardens on the estate where Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924) lived as an adult. Born in industrial, grey England, Burnett’s family moved to a rural America when she was a teen. With the American countryside and greenery around her, nature became an influencing theme in her book.

Where it went next

The Secret Garden wasn’t particularly well received on first publication and was considerably less popular than Hogdson Burnett’s other novels. However it became better known once out of copyright in the 20^th century when new editions and adaptations began to appear and is now considered a classic of children’s literature. There have been a number of film, television and theatre adaptations. The 1949 film version with Margaret O’Brien as Mary, was filmed mostly in black and white but with the scenes in the garden in colour..

Associated stories

Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote over forty books for both adults and children during her life, including Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and A Little Princess (1905).

Noel Streatfield’s novel The Painted Garden sees Jane, the plain, bad tempered middle child between two talented siblings, unexpectedly cast as Mary by a director making a film of The Secret Garden.

Holly Webb’s Return to the Secret Garden is a sequel set during the Second World War.