Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published: Puffin Books, 1994
Pages: 298
Summary: Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. (Taken from Goodreads)
Review:
Rebecca: I saw the movie The Secret Garden years ago and I really liked it. Now I managed to read the book and I loved that too.
Scarlett: I remember seeing the movie too but I don’t think I was all that fond of it. I tend to prefer to visualise the descriptions in my head and movies don’t really let people do that. However, as this is a book review and not a review about the movie, I can happily say that I did enjoy the book.
There is a reason that some books are made into classics. The Secret Garden is really well written and while the language slowed me down a little bit I loved the way that Frances Hodgson Burnett had written the speech. It just made it more realistic.
The Yorkshire speak slowed my pace down a little too. I’m usually a fast reader but I had to keep stopping so I could understand what it was the characters were saying.
I think another reason I loved The Secret Garden so much was because I really like gardens and plants and secret places so this book being about a secret garden was just my type of book. I love imagining myself in Mary’s shoes, befriending Dickon and working on the garden in secret so that they have their own secret place to escape to.
I agree, I think that them working in the garden every day was a great way to bring Mary and Colin out of their shelves and it just made a really great coming of age story.
Overall, I think that The Secret Garden is one of those books that you should read if you enjoy classics, or if you’re interested in flowers and animals. It’s also very good at showing that hope can be found in places you never thought you could. I really enjoyed The Secret Garden and I definitely recommend it.
Source URL: https://free1image.blogspot.com/2011/01/secret-garden-by-frances-hodgson.htmlVisit free image for daily updated images of art collection
