‘One of th’ gardens is locked up. No one has been in it for ten years.’
Written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden is a children’s classic. The cholera seizes Mary’s mother, Ayah and servants. Now all alone, the spoiled, unhealthy child is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle. After discovering the secret garden and meeting Dickon, Mary begins to change. She also finds Colin and helps him change too.
My favourite character is Dickon, as he has a special connection to nature. When the robin (who lives in the garden) first sees Dickon, he knows that he is ‘not a stranger but a sort of robin without beak or feathers.’ He also has creatures from a fox called Captain to squirrels called Nut and Shell.
One of the main themes is change. Mary is first introduced as a spoilt, unhealthy child and hates everyone and everything. However, her appetite grows, she wants to meet Dickon and helps the secret garden grow. The garden grows into a lush, green place from a grey, thought to be dead one. Assisted by the garden, Mary helps to make her cousin, Colin, happy. Like Mary, Colin’s appetite begins to grow. When Mary first meets Colin, he is always lying in bed and believes he has a crooked back. However, by the end of the book, Colin even beats Mary in a race that has a surprising conclusion. All of these changes have something to do with another theme, secrets. Colin is kept secret from Mary and the secret garden plays a key part in their changes. Death and grief are one more theme and are connected to the secrets. The secret garden belonged to Colin’s mother. When she died, Mr Craven locked up the garden and buried the key. Grieving for his wife, Mr Craven rarely sees his son. This is one way that death affected Colin. He also has mixed emotions about his mother’s death.
The Secret Garden is set in the past and present. To us, the book is set in the past. However, our past was the author’s present. There are no elements of fantasy, but the children do believe in Magic.
‘Eight years old or older?’
‘Yes.’
‘Looking for a book about secrets and nature?’
‘Yes.’
‘This is the book for you!’
