The Secret Garden: Frances Hodgson Burnett (Puffin Classics) - Softcover

Hodgson Burnett, Frances

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141321067 ISBN 13: 9780141321066

Publisher: Puffin Classics, 2008

Synopsis

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a magical novel for adults and children alike

'I've stolen a garden,' she said very fast. 'It isn't mine. It isn't anybody's. Nobody wants it, nobody cares for it, nobody ever goes into it. Perhaps everything is dead in it already; I don't know.'

After losing her parents, young Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle's gloomy mansion on the wild English moors. She is lonely and has no one to play with, but one day she learns of a secret garden somewhere in the grounds that no one is allowed to enter. Then Mary uncovers an old key in a flowerbed - and a gust of magic leads her to the hidden door. Slowly she turns the key and enters a world she could never have imagined.

***With a heartwarming introduction by Sophie Dahl***
*** A behind-the-scenes jounrey, including an author profile, a guide to who's who, activities and more...***
*** a much-loved classic***

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was born in Manchester. She had a very poor upbringing and used to escape from the horror of her surroundings by writing stories. In 1865 her family emigrated to the USA where she married and became the successful author of many children's books including Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.

The Puffin Classics relaunch includes:
A Little Princess
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass
Anne of Green Gables
Black Beauty
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
Heidi
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Little Women
Peter Pan
Tales of the Greek Heroes
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of King Arthur
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Call of the Wild
The Jungle Book
The Odyssey
The Secret Garden
The Wind in the Willows
The Wizard of Oz
Treasure Island

About this title

Review:

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as truculent as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, cooped up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived. (Ages 9 to 12)

Review:

"It is only the exceptional author who can write a book about children with sufficient skill, charm, simplicity, and significance to make it acceptable to both young and old. Mrs. Burnett is one of the few thus gifted."--The New York Times

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin Classics
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0141321067
• ISBN 13: 9780141321066
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340