The Secret Garden is a 1910 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's been adapted into several films, at least two miniseries, an anime, a musical, and a opera.
The story follows Mary Lennox, a spoilt brat who's brought to live at Misselthwaite Manor after her parents die. She discovers the titular garden and learns there's a mystery about the manor. Despite being a children's book, it has some very Brontë-ish moments. Mary's first glimpse of the moors sounds like something out of Wuthering Heights, and the mysterious crying that everyone insists isn't there has echoes of Jane Eyre. These unexpectedly Gothic scenes are part of the reason I enjoy reading this book even as an adult.
I don't know anything about gardening, so I don't know how realistic it is that the garden comes back to life after years of almost total neglect, just through Mary and Dickon doing some work in it. But the scenes in the garden are so sweet and heartwarming that I don't care how plausible it is 😊
One of the things Frances Hodgson Burnett excelled at was writing child characters who are completely believable, even when they really shouldn't be. If you need proof, just read Little Lord Fauntleroy. The Secret Garden doesn't disappoint. Mary and Colin both start out as arrogant, selfish jerks who've been given their own way in everything. Instead of magically changing overnight into less obnoxious people, their character development is fairly slow. Some of it is basically caused by them annoying each other into better behaviour. And by the end, they're much more likeable characters.
Speaking of the end, this is one of the few books with a happy ending that made me burst into tears. You'll know why if you've read it.
Even though the book is written for children, it's really for everyone. No matter how old you are, you'll find something to like in this book. I think that's the judge of whether or not a book's good 😊
Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.
Rating: 9/10.
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