The Secret Garden

An enchanting story of transformation and compassion, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden is widely considered to be one of the most important works of children’s literature. After her parents die of cholera, Mary Lennox, a difficult and sickly little girl, is brought from India to her mysterious uncle’s sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Mary continues in her self-absorbed ways until one day she discovers a hidden and neglected garden adjoining her uncle’s mansion. When she meets Ben Weatherstaff, a curt but gentle gardener, and discovers her hidden-away invalid cousin, Colin Craven, the three come together to tend the garden, and Mary’s life—as well as the lives of those around her—begins to change in unforeseen ways.

This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the text of the first American edition published in 1911.

Alice Sebold is the author of the novel The Lovely Bones, and a memoir, Lucky. She lives in California with her husband.