The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
eBook
(Enhanced Ebooks, Feb. 1, 2014)
âIt seemed scarcely bearable to leave such delightfulness.âThough Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote more than forty books, none remains so popular as her miraculous and magical masterpiece, The Secret Garden. Has any story ever dared to begin by calling its heroine, âthe most disagreeable-looking child ever seenâ and, just a few sentences later, âas tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived?â Mary Lennox is the âlittle pig,â sent to Misselthwaite Manor, on the Yorkshire moors, to live with her uncle after her parents die of cholera. There she discovers her sickly cousin Colin, who is equally obnoxious and imperious. Both love no one because they have never been loved. They are the bookâs spiritual secret gardens, needing only the right kind of care to bloom into lovely children.Mary also discovers a literal secret garden, hidden behind a locked gate on her uncleâs estate, neglected for the ten years since Colinâs birth and his motherâs death. Together with a local child named Dickon, Mary and Colin transform the garden into a paradise bursting with life and color. Through their new found mutual love of nature, they nurture each other, until they are brought back to health and happiness.This edition of the children's classic includes original illustrations by Charles Robinson and a link to a free audio recording of The Secret Garden.