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Prefaced by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina’s thorough history of Frances Hodgson Burnett, this edition of the annotated series is filled with the small details and wonderful illustrations that have made The Secret Garden a beloved children’s classic.
The story of a spoiled little English girl raised in India whose life changes dramatically when she is orphaned is invested with magic, imagination and hope. From exotic India to the Yorkshire moors of England, a discovered secret garden captures the vivid imagination of Mary Lennox and her sickly cousin, Colin. Unlocking the mystery of the garden becomes a turning point for Mary, an escape from the dreariness of her uncle’s Misselthwaite Manor.
Applauded at its first printing in 1911, the novel fell into obscurity until an illustrated volume appeared twenty-five years later, once more sparking interest in Burnett’s masterpiece. Indeed, the illustrations add to the Victorian ambience in the story, in both black-and-white and full color, nostalgic images that bring to mind simpler times and the drama of a privileged childhood altered by circumstance, the dark enigma of the moors, a little girl thrust into England after a spoiled childhood in India, her unwell cousin, and the magic of the garden.
The annotations add a bit of spice for those already familiar with The Secret Garden, explanations of particular phrases and tracking of Mary’s emotional maturity as she cares for her cousin, but mostly directed at peculiarities of language rather than historical detail.
The author’s background reveals Burnett’s life experiences, her children, Victoriana versus an increasing dependency on scientific investigation, the slow birth of a classic and an interpretation of The Secret Garden. The Annotated Secret Garden is a treasure, history bound with fiction, illustrations and the vagaries of the written word, a welcome addition to a growing series of annotated classics.
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The Annotated Secret Garden