On the shelf of timeless classics there will always be a space for this gem. "The Secret Garden" by Frances Burnett was the inspiration for much of my childhood mental wanderings. The idea of having a small secret place all of my own, filled with history and emotion and growing things was simply enchanting. The way the author depicts the relationships between her characters is wonderful. For little Mary there are no class barriers. She is equally at home with her Gentleman cousin and the peasant Dickon. Motherhood is shown in a myriad of different flavors; a frivolous young woman who cares little for her child, a powerful and dedicated matron who rules her family with love and strength, a loving but physically weak woman who exists only as a haunting memory. Woven all through the story is the unfettered curiosity of a child.
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