Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett: 20th Century British India British Parents Cholera

At the turn of the
20th century, Mary Lennox is a sickly, neglected, unloved 10-year-old girl,

born in British India to wealthy British parents who never wanted her and made an effort to ignore
the girl. She is cared for primarily by native servants, who allow her to become spoiled, aggressive
and self-centred. After a cholera epidemic kills Mary's parents and the few surviving servants flee the
house, Mary awakes to find herself alone.
Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett

She is discovered by British soldiers who place her in the care of an English clergyman, whose
children taunt her by calling her "Mistress Mary, quite contrary". However, this is only temporary: she
is soon sent to England, to live with her wealthy hunchbacked uncle Archibald Craven (whom she
has never met) at his isolated mansion Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors.
At first, Mary is exceedingly obnoxious and short-tempered. She dislikes her new home, the people
living in it, and most of all, the bleak moor on which it sits. She only begins to like a good-natured
maid named Martha Sowerby, who tells Mary about Mary's aunt, the late Lilias Craven, who would
spend hours in a private walled garden growing roses. Mrs Craven died after an accident in the
garden, and the devastated Mr Craven locked the garden and buried the key.
Mary becomes interested in finding the secret garden herself, and her ill manners begin to soften as
a result. Soon she comes to enjoy the company of Martha, the gardener Ben Weatherstaff, and a
friendly robin redbreast. Her health and attitude improve with the bracing Yorkshire air, and she
grows stronger as she explores the moor and plays with a skipping rope that Mrs Sowerby buys for
her. Mary wonders about the secret garden and about some mysterious cries that echo through the
house at night.
As Mary explores the gardens, her robin draws her attention to an area of disturbed soil. Here Mary
finds the key to the locked garden, and eventually she discovers the door to the garden. She asks
Martha for garden tools, which Martha sends with Dickon, her 12-year-old brother, who spends most
of his time out on the moors. Mary and Dickon take a liking to each other, as Dickon has a kind way
with animals and a good nature. Eager to absorb his gardening knowledge, Mary tells him about the
secret garden.
One night, Mary hears the cries once more and decides to follow them through the house. She is
startled to find a boy of her age named Colin, who lives in a hidden bedroom. She soon discovers
that they are cousins, Colin being the son of Mr and Mrs Craven, and that he suffers from an
unspecified spinal problem which precludes him from walking and causes him to spend most of his
time in bed. He, like Mary, has grown spoiled and self-centred, with the servants obeying his every
whim in order to prevent the frightening hysterical tantrums Colin occasionally flies into. Mary visits
him every day that week, distracting him from his troubles with stories of the moor, Dickon and his
animals, and the secret garden. Mary finally confides that she has access to the secret garden, and
Colin asks to see it. Colin is put into his wheelchair and brought outside into the secret garden. It is
the first time he has been outdoors for several years.
While in the garden, the children look up to see Ben Weatherstaff looking over the wall on a ladder.
Startled and angry to find the children in the secret garden, he admits that he believed Colin to be a
cripple. Furious at being called crippled, Colin stands up from his chair and finds that his legs are
fine, though weak from long disuse. Colin and Mary soon spend almost every day in the garden,
sometimes with Dickon as company. The children and Ben conspire to keep Colin's recovering
health a secret from the other staff, so as to surprise his father, who is travelling abroad.
As Colin's health improves, his father experiences a coinciding increase in spirits, culminating in a
dream where his late wife calls to him from inside the garden. When he receives a letter from Mrs
Sowerby, he takes the opportunity finally to return home. He walks the outer garden wall in his wife's
memory, but hears voices inside, finds the door unlocked, and is shocked to see the garden in full
bloom, and his son healthy, having just won a race against Mary. The children tell him the story, and
the servants watch, stunned, as Mr Craven and Colin walk back to the manor together.
Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett

Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett: 20th Century British India British Parents Cholera

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At the turn of the

20th century, Mary Lennox is a sickly, neglected, unloved 10-year-old girl,

Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett

Author: Frances Hodgsan Burnett

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