Well, you've got to start somewhere...

...and where better than an absolute classic of children's literature: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The book needs no introduction, of course. It would be insulting your general literary knowledge to try to precis the plot of this book. My earliest memory of it is of my mum reading it to me while I was in the bath. I was probably about 7 and I remember imagining the loneliness in the aftermath of the cholera epidemic, and feeling the mystery of the strange cries in the big house.  Since then I have re-read it for myself and seen at least one film adaptation; it remains an important part of my childhood reading and a firm favourite. So I was surprised when I grew older to find that there was a much deeper meaning to the book than first appeared. Frances Hodgson Burnett was very interested in Christian Science - the idea that through living things people can gain spiritual and physical health. The magic of nature and of the Garden that I had taken to just be a fantastical way of telling the story actually underpinned the whole nature of the Christian Science message. Once Mary and Colin had learned to appreciate the wonders of nature and to rejoice in growing things, they began to get better and become nicer children. I'm not going to go into every element of this message here; there are plenty of websites  which explain it much better than I can (start with SparkNotes if you're interested). But this does show what I didn't realise aged 7 - that children's books appear very simple and straightforward, but are actually filled with meaning and are just as complex as any novel for adults.

So this is just a quick introduction to my blog, and to provide a starting point. The next post will compare The Secret Garden with another book connected to it by one of the following links:

Plot: Travelling to a new life, Self-Improvement

Themes: Magic, Religion, Christian Science, Nature, Sickness, Colonial aspects

Character Types: Orphans, Child Heroes, Cousins, Widows/Widowers, Spoiled Children

Settings: Edwardian Age, Yorkshire, India, Large Houses, Gardens