“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. “At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can’t be done, then they see it can be done - then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.” “I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us” “Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way – or always to have it.” You may also like: Unearthing the Secret Garden

“That afternoon the whole world seemed to devote itself to being perfect and radiantly beautiful and kind to one boy.” The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of climbing roses which were so thick that they were matted together.” “It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. Most have been forgotten, swept into the literary dustbin that contains the legions of overly sentimental stories that were produced in that era.īut she produced three works that endured - Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess. They each had strong, offbeat characters and rose above the sugary sweetness and morality of children’s tales of the era. with her mother and siblings when she was in her teens, and started publishing stories in magazines to help support her family.Ĭharles Robinson illustration from the 1911 editionĭuring the course of a writing career that spanned some fifty years, Burnett produced over fifty books and thirteen stage plays. Mary’s redemption through learning to care for others has made this a timeless classic.Ī bit about the author: Frances Hodgson Burnett was born in Cheetham, England. The Secret Garden is a tale spun around the power of kindness and love, painting powerful imagery of the damage that neglect and selfishness can produce. She befriends Dickon, one of the servant’s brother, a free spirit who can communicate with animals, and Colin, her uncle’s son, a neglected and lonely invalid. The tale follows the spoiled and sulky young girl as she slowly sheds her sour demeanor after discovering a secret locked garden on the grounds of her uncle’s manor. After a cholera epidemic kills her parents, Mary is sent to England to live with her uncle in a mysterious house. Here we’ll explore a selection of touching quotes from A Secret Garden.Īt the start of the story, we meet Mary Lennox, a sickly and neglected 10-year-old born to wealthy British parents in colonial India. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 – 1924) was first published as a book in 1911 after being serialized starting in 1909.

The secret garden 1911