The Secret Garden

"The Secret Garden" is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of children's literature.

The main character of this story is Mary Lennox, a sickly, sallow and sour-faced girl. She has been born to rich British parents that are currently living in India. Her self-interested parents were busy with extravagant parties and neglected Mary, leaving her alone. Orphaned by an outbreak of cholera, she is sent back to England to be cared for by her mother's sister's husband.

The only person who has any time for the little girl is the chambermaid Martha Sowerby, who tells Mary about a locked up garden. Mary finds the key to the secret garden buried outside with the help of a robin. The same robin shows her where the door is hidden beneath overgrown ivy. Once inside, she discovers that although the roses seem lifeless, some of the other flowers have survived. She decides to tend the garden herself.

The author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, was a practitioner of Christian Science due to the premature death of her son as well as personal illness. As a result, The Secret Garden espouses the concepts of New Thought and theosophy as well as ideas about the healing powers of the mind.

The garden is the book's central symbol. The secret garden at Misselthwaite Manor is the site of both the near-destruction and the subsequent regeneration of a family. Using the garden motif, Burnett explores the healing power inherent in living things.

Illustrator: MB Kork