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Title: The Annotated Secret Garden |
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Review of The Annotated Secret Garden
- The much-loved tale read by generations of children, now annotated and with over one hundred stunning illustrations.
Frances Hodgson Burnett was famous in her time for her adult novels and her forays into children's literature with Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess. The Secret Garden, her story of an orphan girl who moves from India to the British countryside, has become a favorite book of every generation thereafter. Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, the author of the definitive biography of Burnett, brings out aspects of Burnett's life that led her to write the book, details of the Victorian England time period, attitudes toward children, and Burnett's spiritual leanings. Gerzina captures the magical nature of the tale and the coming together of three children through restoring a hidden garden. With over one hundred illustrations, many in vibrant color, The Annotated Secret Garden is an enchanting gift for any child or for any adult who is still a feisty child underneath. 55 color and 46 black-and-white illustrations.
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Comments for The Annotated Secret Garden
- Posted on 2007-12-31
A Children's Story With A Universal Message
The name Frances Hodgson Burnett now conjures images of fusty Victorian morality stories. The Annotated Secret Garden analyzes her most well known work and reveals Burnett to have been a far more complicated writer who, while she did intend to impart a moral message, followed a theology more heterodox and diffuse than her reputation suggests.
Mary Lennox is a neglected child who is sent back to England after a cholera epidemic in India kills her parents. She is given a home at Misselthwaite Manor by her uncle, who is a self-absorbed hypochondriac. Her only friends are a servant girl and a small bird, who helps her find a secret garden in the grounds of the manor. Eventually, Mary becomes healthier, both physically and mentally, and through her efforts to revive the secret garden she finds renewal not just for herself but for her cousin Colin and her uncle as well. Burnett's theological beliefs, a mixture of Christianity, and "New Thought" or what we now call Positive Thinking, are well developed and used to good effect throughout the story.
The real pleasure of annotated volumes like this are the many notes which explain and expand on what has become confusing or obscure over time. This volume is also a pleasure because of the many fine illustrations, both in color and black and white, drawn from the many different editions. The Annotated Secret Garden will appeal to children being introduced to it for the first time and to adults who, while familar with the story, may not be so aware of the background and beliefs of its author.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2007-12-14
"As long as you have a garden, you have a future."
This beloved children's classic is a welcome addition to Norton's Annotated Series, the tale accompanied by comments about the text, emphasizing the historical details of Mary Lennox's magical journey. The imagery is powerful- spoiled little girl, ill cousin, a lonely childhood and a garden in England that yields life-changing secrets. If one is already familiar with the story, the annotations enhance the text; personally, I have always found annotations distracting, but these are enjoyable for me because I am already familiar with the novel and curious about the information included in the commentary. In this context, I find the remarks interesting, if not vital.
The illustrations throughout are wonderful- black and white, full color, pen and ink- reminiscent of an era when Colonialism is a natural extension of England's empire, children cared for by ayah's and nurses, until, of course, the tragedy that sends little Mary to the lonely English moors and her secret garden. To a child, such pictures are the stuff of imagination, a magical country where anything is possible, even deliverance from the cruel vagaries of fate.
Gerzina's preface highlights Burnett's personal experiences, interests and prolific writing life, this novel much applauded when it first appeared in 1911, falling into obscurity until the illustrated edition once more captures the public's attention. Of eclectic religious tastes, Burnett's spiritual inclinations are formed by her experiences, a classic Victorian thrust into reality by circumstances and a growing emphasis on scientific investigation, deeply frightened by any specter of unhappiness and extremely sensitive to the suffering of others. How much of the author's spiritual inclinations affect her writing is left to the reader to determine.
The preface offers insights into the inspiration and focus on the magic components of hope: "The Literary Influences of The Secret Garden", "The Slow Devolution of a Classic", interpretations of the novel and Burnett's perspective in children's literature It is the background of the story as well as Burnett's history that offers a unique perspective to Mary Lennox's drama, inspired by the difficult life of a woman who continued to write despite significant obstacles. Luan Gaines/ 2007.
Score: 4
- Posted on 2007-11-25
The Annotated Secret Garden
The Secret Garden has become the best known novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, who in earlier years was better known for her adult fiction, and Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess. Although The Secret Garden has been translated to motion pictures several times, none of the films has captured the quality and atmosphere of the book. Burnett's novel conveys the grim reality of a major cholera outbreak in India that leaves an English child as a sole survivor of a family that had been posted to the tropical subcontinent. The child, badly neglected by her own parents, and phenomenally spoiled and self-centered, is suddenly sent to live at the edges of the moors of Yorkshire at a manor house owned by her misanthropic, eccentric uncle. There the character of the grounds,the moors, and the local people begin to work their magic on the child, and she in turn slowly rescues her apparently invalid cousin, who has grown up as overly indulged and self-centered as she had been.
Although the author was British born, she arrived in the United States in 1865 where as a teenager, she began to help support her family through her stories in American and later English magazines. By the beginning of the twentieth century she was one of the most highly paid writers in the English-speaking world.
Burnett's writing remains compelling, as does her story. The annotations provided by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, a distinguished historian and biographer, enhance our understanding of the book without detracting from it. She shares her specialist's knowledge of the Victorian era and British empire culture and politics to provide insights into the society and circumstances that help make The Secret Garden such a moving story.
Peter E. Hanff
Score: 5 - Posted on 2007-11-24
Could have been so much better
There is just so much missing from this book, especially with a list price of $35. The annotations are often just plain silly, with very little useful information. Reminding us each time that Mary is called "Mistress Mary", that it first shows up when she is in India is a complete waste of ink and paper space. As is the comment that the garden being very quiet is like the atmosphere in a cemetary. . .I quit reading the annotations about 1/2 through the book-- which is what I'd paid for, of course. Also, there are many illustrations from various editions and film versions, but with no explanation as to where they came from. Some of the other books in the annotated series are very interesting. But as for this one-- just don't bother.
Score: 2