The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in autumn 1910; the book was first published in its entirety in 1911.

Its working title was Mistress Mary, in reference to the English nursery rhyme Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of children's literature.

Mary Lennox, a nine-year-old girl, is born in India to British parents. She is unwanted by her mother 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. A cholera breakout in the manor kills her parents and many servants, and she is discovered alone but alive after the house is abandoned. She is sent to England to live with her Uncle, Archibald Craven, who is a hunchback.

At first, Mary is her usual self and is sour, disliking the large house, the people within and most of all the vast stretch of moor, which seems scrubby and gray after the winter. She is told that she must stay to her two rooms, and that nobody will bother much with her and she must amuse herself. Martha Sowerby, her good-natured maidservant, tells Mary a story of the late Mrs. Craven, and how she would spend hours in a private garden growing roses; an untimely accident kills her, and Mr. Craven has the garden locked and the key buried. Mary is roused by this story and starts to soften her ill manner despite herself. Soon she begins to lose her disposition and gradually comes to enjoy the company of Martha, Ben Weatherstaff the gardener, and also that of a friendly robin redbreast to whom she attaches human qualities. Her appetite increases and she finds herself getting stronger as she plays by herself on the moor. Martha's mother buys Mary a skipping rope in order to expedite this, and she takes to it immediately. Mary's time is occupied by wondering about the secret garden and a strange crying that can sometimes be heard around the house which the servants ignore or deny.

While skipping around the walls housing the various gardens, Mary comes across a badger hole and finds a key. Thinking it must be to the door of the secret garden, she spends days wandering around the outside wall looking for the door. Finally by chance she finds it, and steps inside the garden nobody has tended for over ten years. She chances to ask Martha if she can have some garden tools, and Martha suggests that Dickon, her twelve-year-old brother, deliver them. Mary and Dickon meet and immediately take a liking to each other, as Dickon has a soft way with animals and a good nature. Eager to absorb his gardening knowledge, she reluctantly lets him into the secret of the garden, which he agrees to keep.

That night, Mary hears the crying again. She follows the noise and to her surprise finds a small boy her age, thin and weak. They introduce each other and she finds out her uncle has a son, Colin. Colin is in deep fear of becoming a hunchback and for years has heard whispers of him dying, and he's come to believe it. Mary quickly convinces him otherwise and visits almost every day that week, distracting him from his troubles with stories of the moor, of Dickon and his animals and of the garden, though she doesn't admit that she's found it yet. When he throws a tantrum after she refuses to be ordered by him, she throws his attitude back and surprises him out of his fit. They reconcile and it is decided what he needs is fresh air and the secret garden, which Mary finally admits she has access to. Colin is put into his chair and brought outside into the garden, the first time he's been outdoors in years.

While in the garden, the children are surprised to see Ben Weatherstaff looking over the wall on a ladder. Startled and angry to find the kids there in his late mistress' garden, he starts to yell at Mary when he notices Colin. Taken completely by surprise he accidentally lets slip that he thought Colin was a cripple, with a hunch back and twisted legs. Colin stands out of his chair to prove him wrong and finds that his legs are fine, though weak from misuse.

From then on, Colin spends every day in the garden and gets stronger. The children conspire to keep Colin's health a secret so he can surprise his father, who is still away traveling and mourning over his late wife. As Colin's health improves, his father's mood does as well, and he has a dream of his wife calling him into the garden that makes him immediately pack his bags and head home. He walks the outer wall in memory but hears voices inside, finds the door unlocked and is shocked to not only see the garden in full bloom with children in it, but his son running.

The servants watch as Mr. Craven walks back to the manor, and all are stunned that Colin runs beside him looking happy.