I too read this countless times as a child, Liz, beginning when I was living (briefly) in Yorkshire, though there was no danger of my confusing my grandparents’ railway cottage in Huddersfield with anything in this book! I quite see how it helped make you a gardener, but as you are aware, it did not have that effect on me. I fear that I am a lost cause on that front. So why did I keep going back to TSG? It was historical fiction to me, and I do like to learn about the past, always have. So there’s that, but I think that above all I liked the developing relationship among the children, with a girl as the catalyst. Also I spent a lot of time ill in bed at that age, and it was nice to read about others in the same case. And, at bottom, it’s a good story! (Despite the fact that it was written as a Christian Scientist tract.)
A lovely post, thank you for the reminder! We moved from a small patch of grass garden to a large one with separate parts. I was about 7 and discovered this wonderful book that I could imagine was my own garden. We even had a robin and blackbird that followed my dad around!
This is lovely, Liz, and I had forgotten how much I loved that book (also Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess). It's so interesting, isn't it, what captures the imagination as a bookish child and has lasting emotional resonance. You have written so beautifully about The Secret Garden, it makes me want to revisit that magical novel (but definitely not the film!)
Such a lovely post of a book I love. I didn't read it as a child, though I wish I had, and was amazed by the "magic" element, which seemed so odd. The descriptive passages of the garden awakening I am reminded of every year.
I too read this countless times as a child, Liz, beginning when I was living (briefly) in Yorkshire, though there was no danger of my confusing my grandparents’ railway cottage in Huddersfield with anything in this book! I quite see how it helped make you a gardener, but as you are aware, it did not have that effect on me. I fear that I am a lost cause on that front. So why did I keep going back to TSG? It was historical fiction to me, and I do like to learn about the past, always have. So there’s that, but I think that above all I liked the developing relationship among the children, with a girl as the catalyst. Also I spent a lot of time ill in bed at that age, and it was nice to read about others in the same case. And, at bottom, it’s a good story! (Despite the fact that it was written as a Christian Scientist tract.)
A lovely post, thank you for the reminder! We moved from a small patch of grass garden to a large one with separate parts. I was about 7 and discovered this wonderful book that I could imagine was my own garden. We even had a robin and blackbird that followed my dad around!
Loved that book as a child. Thank you.
This is lovely, Liz, and I had forgotten how much I loved that book (also Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess). It's so interesting, isn't it, what captures the imagination as a bookish child and has lasting emotional resonance. You have written so beautifully about The Secret Garden, it makes me want to revisit that magical novel (but definitely not the film!)
Such a lovely post of a book I love. I didn't read it as a child, though I wish I had, and was amazed by the "magic" element, which seemed so odd. The descriptive passages of the garden awakening I am reminded of every year.
Terrific analysis here. Thank you!