The Secret Garden (Junior Classics)

Burnett, Frances Hodgson

4.16

1,168,503 ratings by Goodreads

9789626342350: The Secret Garden (Junior Classics)

ISBN 10: 9626342358 ISBN 13: 9789626342350

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks, 2001

When orphaned Mary Lennox arrives at Misselthwaite Manor, her uncle's estate, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. Depressed and withdrawn, Mary soon begins a charming journey into the magical secret garden, bringing happiness for Mary and good health to her cousin Colin.

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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:

"The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a wonderful story that I could think myself into, given that the heroine is the sort of awkward little girl that I thought I was. I loved the idea of a secret place where children could be on their own" (Nina Bawden)

"The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is my "current" favourite children's book. I reread it to my six-year-old daughter last summer and both of us loved it -although she did require me to have a go at the full Yorkshire accent for Dickon, which proved a little bit tricky. It has magic, darkness, whimsy and truth and the fact that it was first published in 1909 yet still managed to enthral my 21stcentury daughter is a testament to its greatness" (Kirsty Young)

"Mary is a tough feisty character, who manages to turn a whole household, and the lives of those in it, completely upside down... The book is brim full of magic and joy" (Sunday Telegraph)

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