The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Classics, Fiction, Young-Adult, Historical-Fiction, Middle-Grade, Fantasy
When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle’s great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly one hundred rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors. The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary’s only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. One day, with the help of two unexpected companions, she discovers a way in. Is everything in the garden dead, or can Mary bring it back to life? One of the most delightful and enduring classics of children’s literature, The Secret Garden has remained a firm favorite with children the world over ever since it made its first appearance. Initially published as a serial story in 1910 in The American Magazine, it was brought out in novel form in 1911.
Recommendations from Common Sense Media
Age Recommendation: 9+
What Parents Need to Know:
Parents need to know that Frances Hodgson Burnett‘s The Secret Garden is a beautifully written book about two selfish, disagreeable English cousins — Mary and Colin — whose lives and dispositions are transformed when they find their way into a locked, walled garden. Friendship and the restorative powers of nature help the children gain good spirits and health. For generations, this 1909 novel has inspired a love of nature and simple pleasures in young readers. That said, it includes some racist ideas about class, colonization, and Indian people. Indians are referred to as “natives” and “blacks,” and Mary is angry and insulted when she’s compared to them. Mary also takes an unkind, superior attitude toward servants and recalls losing her temper and slapping her Ayah (Indian nursemaid). Early in the novel, Mary’s parents and many servants in the household die of cholera, leaving 10-year-old Mary alone. With no one to care for her, Mary becomes thirsty, drinks an abandoned glass of wine from her parents’ dining table, and goes to sleep. Alcohol is mentioned again when the groundskeeper at Misselthwaite manor, Ben Weatherstaff, talks about another man being “drunk as a lord” and beating his wife. The Secret Garden has been made into a few different movie versions, including a 2020 adaptation starring Dixie Egerickx as Mary and Colin Firth as her uncle.
Educational Value: 2/5
Readers will learn the names of plants and flowers (rose, lilac, daffodil, crocus, etc.), the difference between seeds and bulbs, and how to tell when a dormant plant is coming back to life in spring. They’ll also learn a bit about the lifestyle of English aristocrats at the turn of the 20th century and how poorly colonizers treated India and its people.
Positive Messages: 4/5
Like gardens, children need lots of care, fresh air, and sunshine to blossom. Friendship and nature are healing, as is learning to take care of yourself.
Positive Role Models: 4/5
Martha and her mother’s easy, down-to-earth ways help Mary develop her love of nature and compassion for other creatures. Dickon (age 12) also sets a nice example, especially for boys, with his love and respect, and almost magical affinity, for all living things. Colin and Mary both grow in significant ways over the course of the story, changing from being selfish and demanding to generous, open, and supportive. Mary’s experiences in India reflect the country’s history as a place that was unjustly colonized; she speaks about the people there in a patronizing, racist way.
Violence & Scariness: 1/5
Mary recalls that when she lived in India, she slapped her Ayah (nursemaid) whenever she was angry. Ben Weatherstaff talks about a man who got drunk and beat his wife. Mary’s parents die early in the book, leaving her orphaned. Characters argue.
Language: 1/5
Racist references to “the blacks” (i.e. natives of India).
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking: 1/5
Early in the book, Mary drinks a glass of wine that an adult left unfinished; it puts her to sleep. Ben Weatherstaff tells the children about a man who went to the pub and got “drunk as a lord.”
View Common Sense Media entry:
Search libraries for The Secret Garden:
Purchase The Secret Garden:
