the secret garden book review essay

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Review: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it. But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend to it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

I’m so glad I finally picked up this book as recommended to me by Alex , as it is her favourite book! Thank you Alex for all of your encouragement when it came to finally getting me to pick this one up, I really enjoyed it.

As you’ve probably picked up by now, I didn’t read many children’s classics when I was an actual child, and I’m only getting around to reading them now. I find this to be hit and miss, but The Secret Garden has been one of my favourites so far in this little experiment. I really enjoyed so much about this book! All I knew is that there was a garden (I wonder how I figured that out?) and that this book followed a little girl. Who knew how much more this book had to offer?

It made her think that it was curious how much nicer a person looked when he smiled.

Firstly, I loved the character of Mary. She moves to Yorkshire from India at the start of this story to live in her Uncle’s house. She is rude to everyone, very spoilt and arrogant to all those she meets. However, she learns so much about people and herself throughout this story, which I loved. She has a genuine redemption arc which was a joy to read about, and she’s not the only character who does. Many of the characters throughout this story grew and learned about how to treat other people. It was beautiful, and I loved their friendships with each other and the adults around them.

The garden itself was also a delight, and I could visualise the beautiful plants and flowers. I loved the symbolisation of the growth of the garden reflected in the characters, and watching the garden grow with them was so lovely. I read this book over a few days, and I read 300 pages of it in a day as part of a readathon. I actually found my enjoyment of the book grew the longer I was reading it, as it just felt like the perfect amount of time to immerse myself in the story. It was so easy to carry on reading as there was so many hints and mysteries dropped throughout the book, and I just wanted to find out what was going to be revealed next.

She had not thought of it before.

Although this book wasn’t perfect, and I sadly felt a little disconnected in the last few pages, there is so much to love about this book. It had the most beautiful, immersive surroundings and lovable characters. I think I would have really loved it as a child!

★★★★ 4 out of 5 stars

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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3 thoughts on “ Review: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett ”

This is one of my favourite books–the magic of the garden and the transformation in the children is wonderful. Enjoyed reading your review–makes me want to revisit the book again.

Like Liked by 1 person

It really is! Thank you 🙂

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Words And Peace

Book reviews and good books for you to read.

(2012) #24 book review: The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson BURNETT

Originally published in 1911

I read this book for

It also counts for the following challenges:

First, a few introductory notes?

I’m in my 40s, so why read this children book?
Well, I was not raised in an anglophone country, and so I never had the chance to read this book as a child. I don’t remember it being popular in French, but maybe it was after all, and I just missed it by reading books for adults too early!
A few weeks ago, as you may recall, I posted my review of the fantastic book by Kate Morton: The Forgotten Garden .
In an interview, the author referred to The Secret Garden . So I really needed to read it to see where she had got some of her inspiration.
Now about the format: I read it as a free ebook; but to check the number of pages, for my crazy reading statistics, I checked at my local library, and lo and behold, I discovered my favorite illustrator, Ruth Sanderson , had illustrated the book! It is a gorgeous book! This is the picture I chose for the top of the post.

If you do not know yet Ruth Sanderson , I suggest you check her webpage . You will see the covers of all the books she has illustrated so far, plus extra cool material, like a video of her latest book.

I discovered Ruth Sanderson a few years ago, when a member of my family asked me to decorate a crib with pictures from Mother Goose. I found a gorgeous book, illustrated by Ruth, I contacted her, and she agreed I copied her art, as this crib is just a gift to my family. Have you seen my painting of this crib yet? If not, go here . Click on each picture to zoom in. This represents hours and hours of painting, it was a fun project.

I guess it is high time to consider the book itself now.

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK

I loved this book very very much.

I loved it mostly for the nature elements; plus reading it in the Spring, when we just planted our vegetable garden, was definitely a plus.

I also love birds , and the robin participation was really cute and things you can definitely experience when you often work in a garden. Actually, we had a bit of a similar experience: as we were planting our own vegetable garden, a cardinal came on the next roof and kept singing for a long time, as if encouraging us. I could only smile, thinking about the robin!

It was an interesting perspective on coming of age as well : how one child can help another one grow, which is probably the most healthy way of growing. And what most healthy way of growing than in a natural setting, growing, patiently, one day at a time, opening yourself to the sun, drawing your strength from your inner resources and from the wealth of your environment, with the flowers, and weeds! I spent my first 10 years in a French rural village of less than 250 inhabitants, and I did enjoy growing things in the garden, though they were more herbs and vegetables than flowers.

At a linguistic level, it was fun seeing here a kid speaks with the local accent, almost dialect, though I need to totally rely on the author to trust this was authentic, as I do not know people from that region.

Finally, it is refreshing to read books surrounded by a kind of “magical” aura, but “white magical”, with nothing pertaining to the world of evil. I believe there are too many books and movies of the other kind these days, as if that could help kids grow in an healthy way.

Shortly after reading this book, I discovered that a very recent adaptation had been made of this classic: The Humming Room , by Ellen Potter.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT

You probably all know what it is about, but just in case I need to refresh your memory:

A ten-year-old orphan comes to live in a lonely house on the Yorkshire moors where she discovers an invalid cousin and the mysteries of a locked garden. Burnett’s classic story of a disagreeable and self-centered little girl and her equally disagreeable invalid cousin is as real and wise and enthralling now as it was when it was first written over 75 years ago. The strength of her characterizations pulls readers into the story, and the depth inherent in the seemingly simple plot continues to make this sometimes forgotten story as vital to the maturation of young readers as Tom Sawyer and Little Women.

And look, Hurtled To 60 And Now Beyond has a beautiful post on the place that inspired the author to write The Secret garden! Really gorgeous.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Primarily remembered today for her trio of classic children’s novels – Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911) – Burnett was also a popular adult novelist, in her own day, publishing romantic stories such as The Making of a Marchioness (1901) for older readers.

REVIEWS BY OTHERS

This is part of a read-along, so you can click on the Read-along image, and you will find lots of other reviews, and long comments to the great questions offered by our hostess Book Journey AND win prizes!

Here are the questions Sheila proposed for our discussion:

1. When Mary loses both of her parents to the epidemic, why do you feel she expresses no grief for them but is more concerned with who will now take care of her? 2. Mary and Colin are often described as being unpleasant and rude. Martha, in fact, says Mary is “as tyrannical as a pig” and that Colin is the “worst young newt as ever was.” Why are both of these children so ill-tempered? Whom does Burnett hold responsible for their behavior—themselves or their parents? How does this fit into one of the larger themes of the novel, that of the “fallen world of adults”? 3. Upon Mary’s first encounter with Dickon, Burnett describes the boy in this way: “His speech was so quick and easy. It sounded as if he liked her and was not the least afraid she would not like him, though he was a common moor boy, in patched clothes and with a funny face and a rough, rusty-red head. As she came closer to him she noticed that there was a clean fresh scent of heather and grass and leaves about him, almost as if he were made of them.” What is significant about this passage? Are there any particular motifs that seem to be connected specifically to Dickon? 4. Why do you feel Mr. Craven has avoided his son Colin so? In the end, is Craven worthy of Colin’s forgiveness? 5. What role does the robin play in the book? 6. How does “Indian-ness” function in the novel? How does class and status? 7. Which characters are most strongly associated with the world of the manor house? Which characters are most strongly associated with the secret garden? What does this opposition suggest? 8. Which narrative features were employed by the author to make The Secret Garden speak to children? Why do you think this novel appeals to an adult audience as well? What makes it a classic? 9. Was the Secret Garden what you thought it would be? What did you enjoy most about this read? What do you think makes it a classic?

Again, click here if you want to see all our answers to these great question

HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK YET? DO YOU OFTEN RE-READ IT? SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IN A COMMENT PLEASE

This was my first reading of the book too. Like you, I have a strong connection with nature. For the past few weeks I have been working in the garden almost daily and consider the little creatures that visit to be my friends. There are baby birds everywhere. I even talk to them. Like Dickon, I’m starting to understand ‘feathered speak’.

this is so cool. I need to add this language to my list!

It’s fascinating! Birds have a completely different language in the summer than in the winter. I’ve been paying attention to a pair of robins that are nesting on the neighbor’s side of my fence. There is the happy singing mating song, the squawking that means ‘this is my territory’, a sharp, chipping warning call when danger is near, and a gentle clucking followed by a chirp when they were coaxing the nestlings to fledge. Every night just after sunset, all the robins begin to chirp for about 5 minutes. I have no idea what this means other than to say goodnight.

I know also a bit the chickadee language. It’s fun very early Spring or even late Winter to notice when their song switches; for me it’s the first harbinger of Spring, it’s even before any robin arrives here – in the Midwest. Talking about Birds, have you ever read Life List? Fascinating, about a woman with cancer going all over the world to see as many birds as she can. I read this before blogging, so I have no review, but here is the Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4620058-life-list

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As you know, I loved this! I wish I read it as a child.

me too, but I did not grow up in an English speaking country, and apparently that was not popular in my little French village. the movie is great too by the way

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IMAGES

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