The Secret Garden

This is a book review on The Secret Garden. Hope you enjoy it and decide to read this book!

The Secret Garden documents the fictional life of Mary Lennox, a sour, neglected daughter of a rich English family. After a cholera epidemic on her mother’s Indian estate, where Mary had lived her whole life, Mary was sent to live with her disagreeable uncle in England. At Misselthwaite Manor, Mary meets Martha, an outspoken Yorkshire servant who is awe-struck at Mary’s spoiled, royal ways. Little Ms. Lennox soon learns to get along by herself and meets Ben Weatherstaff, Misselthwaite’s gardener. While talking to Ben and Martha, Mary learns of a secret garden her uncle locked away ten years ago. This information sets Mary off on her first adventure in life. Mr. Weatherstaff’s friend, who happens to be a red-breasted robin, amazingly finds the key to the secret garden for Mary. The young girl also discovers her uncle’s secret son, Colin, and meets Martha’s younger brother, Dickon. Together, they bring the Secret Garden back to life and watch it change and grow, while they do some changing and growing themselves. 

When Mary first arrived at Misselthwaite, she was a spoiled waif. She expected Martha, the long-winded Yorkshire servant, to dress her, an idea which was completely foreign to Martha. Before she learned of the Secret Garden, nothing in life had ever interested her, and she hated everything. While India was muggy and made Mary tired and careless, the strong billows of wind from the moor painted Mistress Mary’s lifeless cheeks a jubilant pink. The knowledge of a locked garden awakened Mary’s adventurous and intuitive spirit, buried by years of pampering and overindulgence. Also, the prospect of meeting a real live boy who could talk to animals sparked her long-idle curiosity. After meeting Colin, Mary realizes that she had been spoiled. The Secret Garden’s lifelessness puts in Mary the desire to make it grow. As the garden comes back to life, Mary Lennox follows suit. 

While Mary is exploring the immense Misselthwaite Manor, she discovers her secret cousin, Colin. He is just as sour and pampered as she was before she came to her uncle’s mansion. He has thought of himself as an invalid his whole life and expected everyone to do exactly what he wants. His personal servants are amazed at Mary’s influence; as she talks with Colin, he becomes calmer and more manageable”.  When Mary tells her cousin of the Secret Garden, he too becomes interested in life again. He finally gains the desire to breathe “fresh air”, something that he and Mary had once despised. While Mary and Dickon bring the Secret Garden back to life, Colin grows stronger and realizes that his illness can be curried with simple fresh air and outdoor activity. Not only does the garden grow, but so does Colin. 

The Secret Garden once belonged to Mary’s Aunt, which she had tended with great care. But when she was sitting in the crook of her favorite tree she fell, was badly injured and eventually died. Mary’s grieving uncle, Mr. Craven, had locked the door to the Secret Garden and buried the key. Over the course of ten years, the roses of the garden had twisted and wound themselves between trees and across the ground, turning the enclosed garden into a macabre forest. When she extracts information about the Secret Garden from Martha, Mary is intrigued. With the help of Ben Weatherstaff’s robin, she finds the key to the garden and begins her adventure. Dickon, Martha’s brother, helps Mary bring the garden back to life and make it grow into a beautiful display botanical handiwork. 

Mary Lennox had arrived at Misselthwaite Manor as a sour-faced, rotten and spoiled survivor from a cholera epidemic in India. But the knowledge of a secret garden, an unexplored mansion, and a boy who can tame animals ignites Mary’s interest in life. A combination of the Secret Garden and Mary Lennox bring Misselthwatie back to life. Without the Secret Garden, Mary would have never given up her pampered ways, and without Mary, the Secret Garden would never have been able to show its true beauty to Mr. Craven. The Secret Garden is a book to be admired for its tale of one spoiled waif who changes the lives of many people deep in despair at Misselthwaite Manor.