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The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden

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This version of Secret Garden is an historic 1911 edition with illustrations.

The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's literature.

Mary Lennox is a 10-year-old girl, who is born in India to wealthy British parents. She is unwanted by her mother and father, and taken care of primarily by servants, who pacify her as much as possible to keep her out of the way. Spoiled and with a temper, she is unaffectionate, angry, rude and obstinate. Cholera breaks out in the manor and kills Mary's parents and many servants. She is discovered alone but alive after the house is abandoned. She is sent to Yorkshire, England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven.

With the rise of scholarly work in children's literature over the past quarter-century, The Secret Garden has steadily risen to prominence, and is now one of Burnett's best-known works. The book is often noted as one of the best children's books of the twentieth century. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." It was one of the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.

The garden is the book's central symbol, inspired by Burnett's interest in Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science theories. The secret garden at Misselthwaite Manor is the site of both the near-destruction and the subsequent regeneration of a family. Using the garden motif, Burnett explores the healing power inherent in living things.

Maytham Hall in Kent, England, where Burnett lived for a number of years during her marriage is often cited as the inspiration for the book's setting. Burnett kept an extensive garden, including an impressive rose garden. However, it has been noted that besides the garden, Maytham Hall and Misselthwaite Manor are physically very different.
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