authoritative text, backgrounds and contexts, Frances Hodgson Burnett in the press, criticism A Norton critical edition
453 pages
English language
Published Aug. 6, 2005 by W.W. Norton.
The Secret Garden has awakened the spirits of four generations of children to the hope of growth and rebirth as well as the beauty of nature, which mirrors the possibility of eternal spring in the human soul. Ten year-old Mary Lennox discovers a long-neglected and completely enclosed garden that she sets out to bring back to life. As the garden revives, so do the long unhappy and unhealthy people associated with it. This vivid, almost poetic tale is as immortal as the themes it portrays—life from death, hope from apathy, joy from despair, and health from illness.
So, only after reading the whole thing did I learn that this is supposed to be a kid's book, but like...I dunno. It kinda sucks? The prose is very good, to the point where the first half of the book is excellent, but then everyone's problems are solved by the magical powers of the outdoors and positive thinking and then the book ends.
