The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Book Reviews of The Secret Garden
Book Review: Where It May All Have Begun [BBC 51]
Summary: 5 Stars
This book involves the trio of youths who conspire -- in a nice way -- to make the elders of their environs look abashfully gullible to the conniving power of 10 year old minds.
The three leaders are an expatriate child whose parents toll to cholera in India delivers her to England in a mansion of over 100 rooms. Her uncle is anything but warm and fuzzy and leaves all attending o the child to his help while he sees the world -- apparently embittered as he lost a beautiful wife 10 years earlier -- something he would never attain again as his wealth may not get the attention of women as his hunchback is not attractive to anyone.
The little orphaned girl begins to do a few things in the overwhelmingly boring environment of the mansion-- she obtains health. She eats and plays and then finds the garden where her muscles also get exercise while she gets fresh air and occasional exercise by weeding and digging.
Ultimately the garden leads her to meet Dickon -- a pied piper or Peter Pan character who can whistle and play instruments which charm the wild animals in the moor surrounding the estate. He also knows nature and helps the growing of the garden. From there comes the meeting of Colin -- the lord of the house and the cousin of the Indian orphan, Mary. From these meetings comes the great conspiracy -- and all is a secret created and conceived in the garden.
The children at work beneath the noses of their guardians who can do what the adults cannot is the central focus. Harry Potter may have been inspired by this novel. So too may have been many other classic novels for children in which the meetings and conquests are adult in nature, but childlike in attempt.
So too may have this been inspired by Bronte and her Jane Eyre. Great literature breeding off and creating inspiration for other great literature is always a highlight in any reader-quest. This is a novel to be read for that purpose alone, if not for the story which has endured over one hundred years.
Book Review: the best book I have read!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I chose to read this book because I like secrets and the word secret was on the title of the book!
The book was about a girl named Mary and she wasn't very nice but thankfully, she learned how to be nice. The reason why she wasn't very nice was because her parents did not give her any attention also her nanny hated her and to everybody else she seemed invisible. After the devastating fact that both of her parents dying of cholera, she was taken from India to live with her uncle in England. In England she had a young maid named Martha. Martha taught her the correct behavior in manner that was required in her uncle's household. Mr. Craven (her uncle) was always a grump and stayed almost all of the time away from everyone because his wife died and he never got over it. That is why he locked up Mrs. Craven's beautiful garden. There is another secret besides the garden. I will not tell you about it because it will spoil the book for you! But the only thing I will tell you is they found the key to the secret garden!!
I rate this book 9 out of 10 stars because of all of the secrets and adventures. I believe I relate most to Martha because of her adventures and sneaky personality. From what I have read about the author, I think she would relate most to Dicken's mother (Mrs. sowerby) because of her kind and karing pesonality.
So overall I think it was a fantastic book, because three people found happiness. You will have to read the book to figure out who they are!!
Book Review: Part fairy tale, part science
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite books of all time. Each time I read it I am once more swept away into the haunting and slightly Gothic world of the English moores and the mystery that haunts that old house.
There is something absolutely enchanting this book that I have yet to put my finger upon. I don't know if it's the setting, the classic story, the incredibly developed characters, or the mystery. But it's fantastic.
It begins with Mary, a thoroughly bratty, spoilt child who had grown up in India, every single one of her whims answered. When her parents die horribly, she is shipped off to her uncle's, across the world in dreary England. However, he doesn't pay much attention to her, either, and Mary finds herself, most unwillingly, becoming attached to the staff of the spooky old house and the story of an abandoned garden loved by her dead aunt.
One of the strongest points of this book is its characters. We have the obvious example of Mary, the girl who goes from being a complete bitch to someone tolerable. The rest of the cast is just as wonderful, as quirky and different as one could ask for, all with their own stories and personalities.
Then we have the vibrant setting. Hodgson is a genius at painting a gorgeous but unflowery world of enchanting England and India, from lush sun to rain-soaked fields, an earthy garden, a dusky old house.
Basically, it's everything you could ask for from a book.
Book Review: Fun For Young and Old
Summary: 5 Stars
The Secret Garden is the story of Mary Lennox, a girl whose family dies in a cholera outbreak in India. She is a lonely brat, so when she is sent to live with her reclusive uncle in England, she has a hard time adjusting to the familiarity of the servants and the expectation that she can take care of herself. While wandering the gardens, she finds one that is locked up. Ben Weatherstaff, the gardener, warns her not to go poking around, that the garden was locked ten years before when the master's wife died there. Of course, the warning only makes Mary more curious, and she does what she can to make the garden hers. She soon discovers that the garden is tied into more than one family secret.
This book awakens a childlike sense in all who love it. It is mysterious and exciting, and the writing is very easy to be drawn into. Although she is described as an ugly girl with a selfish temperament, it is natural to like Mary and to wish for the best for her. Therefore, when she gets excited about the garden, so do we as readers, and when she is enraptured by Dickon and his Magic, so are we.
Luckily, there are several good movie adaptations, so I recommend watching one after completing the novel to compare. It is remarkable how many remain true to the book, a testament to its perfection.
Book Review: A Real Classic
Summary: 5 Stars
Both my daughters and I have loved this book. Written nearly a hundred years ago, it tells the story of Mary, a wealthy English child raised in India, who is sent back to Yorkshire to her eccentric uncle, after her family tragically dies of cholera in India. As she grows up in the drafty old house, she befriends Dickon, a young peasant lad from down the road, and eventually finds her mysterious cousin who has been an invalid since childhood. Together, they restore an old garden and themselves. The dialect was a bit perplexing to my daughters, and there are some less than politically correct turns of phrase that haven't been editted out. But it's a book that keeps the pages turning and interests both boys and girls. If you loved this, you'll love The Little Princess as well.