Title: The Secret Garden
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 276
Rating: 4*/5
Frances Hodgson Burnett – The Secret Garden
I read this book as a teenager. We had to read it for GCSE English and I’d completely forgotten about it until recently when I saw a few people talking about it on YouTube and decided to pick myself up another copy.
This is the point at which I admit that I haven’t re-read it in full since I read it as a kid, but I did flick through it to refamiliarise it with myself and the first thing that jumped out at me was the same thing that I really remember from it: the imagery. Of course, the story line itself is touching, heartwarming and occasionally even harrowing, but the main thing that I remember is Burnett’s stunning use of language and how it really brings the story to life.
I think that’s why it’s a classic. There’s something timeless about the story and the language that transcends time and makes it just as enjoyable now as it would have been back when it was first published. When we were reading it for school, I used to get in trouble for reading ahead of the class because they were far too slow for me. I think that says a lot.
All in all then, I have a lot of time for this book, and I’m hoping to carve out a window in my schedule in the future to give it a re-read. Sure, it takes a little dedication, but that’s a good thing. Commit yourself to it and fall right into the story.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
