It is the early 20th century. Ten-year-old Mary arrives in Great Britain from India and ends up on the estate of her elderly uncle, who couldn't care less about the girl. Since his wife's death, her uncle takes no interest in anything at all; he has withdrawn into himself and has no intention of coming back. Not that this is a problem: the girl doesn't care about her uncle either, or about the rest of the world, because she grew up an unloved child, hardly ever saw her parents, and was raised by servants who found it easier to indulge her in everything than to argue. Naturally, Mary is not the most pleasant young lady: selfish, indifferent, spoiled and lazy. On top of that, she is plain, sickly and frail. Think that's enough "lovely" characters for one book? Not quite. There is one more resident in the house: a boy named Colin, who has been told since childhood that his health is poor and that any contact with the outside world is bad for him — so he lies in bed feeling sorry for himself... That's it for the disagreeable characters; all the others, on the contrary, are good-hearted and cheerful. They are the servants and the villagers, and they are the ones who will pull their masters out of their chronic gloom.
Mary comes to life first. A maid gives her something very simple, a skipping rope, but thanks to it the girl spends more time outdoors, grows stronger, gets a tan, works up an appetite and little by little grows prettier. One day, on a walk, the girl stumbles upon an overgrown gate leading into a neglected garden. It was her uncle's late wife's beloved garden, but after his terrible loss the master ordered it locked and every memory of it erased. The girl, however, is intrigued. With the help of new friends, she turns the wild patch into a charming corner. By tending the plants, observing nature and working alongside good people, Mary, and then Colin, become filled with life and happiness themselves.
I've retold nearly the whole story, but that's all right, there's no suspense in it anyway. What matters here is not what happens but how. How the garden blooms, how the children change, how love and light descend on the small world of the estate (and on the reader's heart along with it). A very warm, green, heartfelt book — these English gardens truly are a miracle!
"The Secret Garden" by Frances Burnett for children aged 8–12 who enjoy calm storytelling and plenty of description
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