|
Books Children's Books The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
|
||||||
| Author | Frances Hodgson Burnett |
The Secret Garden, a classic loved for more than seventy-five years, is all that its title implies. It is, as one might imagine, a mystery. But it is also a love story and the love is as passionate and fervent as one could imagine. It is a story of the love of nature, of science and the scientific method, and of isolated and lonely human beings who learn to care not only for others, but equally important, for themselves.
| Overall: | 5.0 |
Reviewed by RoseI had never read this as a child, or had it read to me. My first exposure to the story was by viewing the wonderful film version made in the 1990,s.
What a treasure I missed out on in my youth! This story is truly amazing. First off, the horror of the cholera deaths in the early part of the story, as well as the apathetic behavior and responses of Mary do so much to bring to life this sad ugly, unwonted, misbehaving child. The descriptive passages about the carriage ride, the moorland, the 600 year old house, wow, I was completely enthralled and blown away. One of my favorite scenes was when Mary decides to see if the 100 rooms really are all locked...
I would definitely recommend this to any adult or child. The version I read was the original, and there are definitely some references to the native Indians that are politically incorrect, but I think an adult reader should just remember that this story was written in a much different time and social context; and if that is explained to a child hearing the story, I think that creates more learning and understanding about the way people were unjustly behaved towards in the past due to ignorance and prejudice. Those are lessons that should be remembered and learned so that they are not repeated out of ignorance in the future.
