The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Book Summary Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett Brand: Candlewick Press Afterword: Sandra M. Gilbert Edition: Mass Market Paperback Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 2003-07-01 ISBN: 0451528832 Number of pages: 288 Publisher: Signet Classics Product features:
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Book Reviews of the The Secret Garden
Customer Review: Charming, Insightful, Refreshing
Summary: 4 Stars
If you seek a break from novels reading like the six o'clock news on steroids, you might enjoy the innocent interlude of The Secret Garden. Be prepared for Snow White meets Pinocchio meets St. Francis of Assisi--a character named Dickon who enters one scene with a crow named Soot on his right shoulder, squirrels named Nut and Shell on his left shoulder and in his coat pocket, a rescued newborn lamb in his arms, and a little red fox trotting by his side. Though at times a bit syrupy, this book refreshes between other novels about calamity after calamity, evil upon evil.
The Secret Garden reminds adults of the healing power of childlike wonder over childhood wounds. The golden nugget of wisdom at the heart of this charming allegory is the Proverb "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he," or the words of Jesus in Luke 6, "For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks."
At the beginning of the novel, cousins Mary Lennox and Colin Craven, both 10 years old, have developed self-defeating attitudes due to parental abandonment. The mystery of a locked garden, also abandoned for 10 years, intrigues them. Nurturing this garden, they nurture their own and each other's hearts. Their transformation brings wonder and delight to the adults around them. Key change agents in the story are members of a local family, Dickon's, who enjoy simple pleasures, are one with nature, and who love giving life.
As if the metaphor of tending the garden (with its need for weeding and seeding to produce beautiful flowers) weren't enough, author Frances Hodgson Burnett plants another strong analogy. Dickon's family speaks a broad Yorkshire dialect, which Mary delights in learning. I especially liked one vocabulary lesson, when she learns that wick means alive or lively. As she abandons her dour outlook, replaces it with newfound purpose and wonder, and reaches out to love others, Mary becomes more wick.