Published in 1911, The Secret Garden is Frances Hodgson Burnett’s greatest literary work. This beloved classic has been a part of many childhoods and has inspired a love for reading in many hearts, mine included.
The story is primarily about Mary Lennox, who is a very disagreeable little girl. Moving from India to her uncle’s Misselthwaite Manor on the foreign moors of Yorkshire, England, Mary finds a great many things to dislike. She’s known nothing else but getting her own way her entire life of ten years and has never understood that her selfishness is wrong. Her parents died of cholera in India, and neither of them showed Mary the love every child needs for a healthy, happy life. When Mary discovers a secret garden that’s been locked away for a long time, she is inspired to help it grow and be a beautiful garden once more. Eventually, Mary meets her sickly cousin Colin, an exceedingly rude boy who has also only ever gotten his way. Mary, with the help of a local child named Dickon, help Colin to overcome the source of his imperious behavior: the belief that he will never be well enough to grow up. Together the children breathe new life into the secret garden, and into the family of Misselthwaite Manor.
I read a shorter, children’s version of this book when I was very young, and though I haven’t read it since then until now, I enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it since sometimes things from our childhood aren’t exactly how we remember them. I admit it was harder to get into the rhythm of the book than I thought, primarily since there wasn’t much dialogue in the beginning. About halfway through I opted to listen to an audio version of the book, only because I was reading other books as well and didn’t have more time to spend on it. That being said, I enjoyed the audiobook immensely! I listened to a free recording from LibriVox read by Kara Shallenberg which was posted on YouTube. She embodied the characters’ voices very well, giving each their own personalities. This was also the first audiobook I have ever fully listened to, and she made it most enjoyable!
My rating for this book is ☕☕☕☕/5 coffees. Happy reading!
Books, Coffee, and Jesus 