When Mary’s
parents die of cholera, she is sent to live with her uncle, who lives on the
Yorkshire moors. At first, she’s not impressed. The moor is ugly, the house is
boring, and she’s determined to hate everything. But it’s very difficult to
hate the friendly robin, and even crusty old gardener Ben Weatherstaff plays a
part in helping Mary to appreciate her new home. Mary’s life is starting to be
happy at last…but then she hears the sound of crying somewhere in the house,
and she's determined to find out who it is.
I don’t remember ever reading The Secret Garden as a child, although I did have a tape which I listened to over and over again. I really wanted a secret garden of my own, but I don’t think my parents really fancied building the wall.
Reading the book again a couple of weeks
ago, I fell in love with the story all over again. I loved the children – all
of them are on the unusual side, as I always was (and still am), but they are
still able to make friends, and they learn to admire and appreciate each other.
The animals and plants seem almost magical, and the one thing I wasn’t able to
appreciate on the tape (a lot of it was obviously cut out) are Frances Hodgson
Burnett’s wonderfully vivid descriptions of India, the moors of Yorkshire, and
the gardens (secret or otherwise) at Misselthwaite Manor.
At the beginning of the book, Mary isn’t
described in a very positive way, but she’s still a very sympathetic character
– it’s clear she hasn’t had a very good life or been loved by her parents, so
even though she’s spoilt and disagreeable, you do kind of feel there might be
some hope for her if she has a reason to be happy.
As the book progresses, JMary begins to
experience enjoyment and friendship for the first time – her character takes
root, just like the plants in her garden.
There are other great characters like the
friendly servant, Martha, who is the first person to be kind to her and show an
interest in her, while teaching her good values and independence at the same
time. Mary makes friends of her own age when she meets Martha's brother
Dickon, and follows the sound of crying to discover another secret, which is
not unconnected to the secret garden.
There aren't many characters in the book, so there aren't many names to avoid. The gardener, Ben Weatherstaff is usually called by his full name, but a personalised character called Ben could be confusing. Mary's uncle is called Archibald, but he's mostly referred to as Mr Craven. A personalised character with the surname Medlock might cause confusion.
There aren't many characters in the book, so there aren't many names to avoid. The gardener, Ben Weatherstaff is usually called by his full name, but a personalised character called Ben could be confusing. Mary's uncle is called Archibald, but he's mostly referred to as Mr Craven. A personalised character with the surname Medlock might cause confusion.
It’s also really lovely to read about
unhealthy people becoming healthy – maybe that will happen to me one day.
