Francis Burnett's “Mysterious Garden” is a timeless classic that opens the door to the innermost corners of the heart, leaving a generation of readers with fond memories of magic for life.
When Mary Lennox was sent to the Misselweit estate to live with her uncle, everyone said that she was the most unpleasant-looking child that had ever been seen ...
Thus begins the famous story of one of the most beloved children's books in the world. It was first published in 1911. This is an exciting story about a lonely little girl orphaned and sent to a Yorkshire mansion on the edge of a huge lonely swamp. At first she was frightened by this gloomy place, but with the help of a local boy Diccon, who earned the trust of wild animals of the swamp for his honesty and love, disabled Colin, a spoiled, unhappy boy, scared of life, and a mysterious abandoned garden, Mary finally reveals the mystery of life itself.
About the Author Francis Burnett
Frances Burnett was born November 24, 1849 in Manchester, England, in the family of Edwin Hodgson and Eliza Bond. Her father ran a thriving company that specialized in the sale of decorative art for home interiors. At that time, a textile boom was taking place in Manchester that flooded the city with a growing middle class, and since these families built magnificent homes, Hodgson's goods were in demand. The prosperity of the Hodgson family was interrupted in 1854 when Edwin suffered a stroke. Even more destructive for the marital status was the US civil war, which led to the cessation of cotton supplies from southern plantations, damaging the economy of Manchester.
Relocation to America
Eliza Hodgson decided to emigrate to America, and in 1865, when Francis was 16 years old, the family settled in a small town 25 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee. This step will contribute to the development of Burnett as a writer. Although she was always obsessed with storytelling and often amused her classmates, inventing tales of adventure and romance, the financial strain of emigration forced her to turn to writing as a means to supplement her family's income. The transition from industrial England to rural America was for the family a journey into the green, natural world, which will become a central theme in many of Burnett's later works (and The Mysterious Garden, including).
Writer's work
Burnett's first published short story, Engagement of Miss Carruthers, appeared in Lady Godey's Book in 1868. After the death of her mother in 1872, the family depended more and more on her writing income. She sped up her career as a popular writer and sold stories to many magazines. In September 1873, she married Swann Burnett, a doctor from Tennessee who was preparing to specialize in treating eyes and ears. He wanted to continue his studies in Europe, and Burnett funded his desire, again becoming responsible for most of her family's income. In 1874, she gave birth to a son, Lionel, and began work on her first major novel, The Lass o 'Lowries. The criticism was encouraging, and many reviews compared Burnett's novel to the works of Charlotte Bronte and Henry James. In 1879, she published the novel Haworth, her first attempt to create serious science fiction. Later that year, one of her first children's stories appeared in St. Nicholas, a magazine in which she would be published for many more years. It was at this time that Burnett, who was constantly struggling with diseases, became acquainted with the philosophy of spiritualism, Theosophy, the healing of reason and Christian science. The ideas of these philosophies about the healing power of the mind became the decisive motive in many of her works, especially in The Little Princess, The Mysterious Garden and The Lost Prince.
Popularity and change
In 1886, Little Lord Fountleroy, a book that changed the life of Burnett, was released. She became a bestseller in America and England. Although the success of the book defined Francis as a popular and romantic writer, rather than a serious writer, he provided her with sufficient income to free her from her unhappy marriage and allow her to travel around Europe. In 1890, Burnett's first son, Lionel, was diagnosed with consumption, and he died that same year. By 1898, Francis divorced her husband and rented a country house in England, where she plunged into her passion for gardening. The estate was surrounded by several walled gardens, one of which, the rose garden, served as its working room in the open air. It was here that the idea of ​​the "Mysterious Garden" was born.
"The Mysterious Garden" - a book by Francis Burnett
Over her life, Burnett has written over 40 books for both adults and children. While her adult novels are considered highly sentimental, books for children withstood the inconstancy of literary fashion. The Mysterious Garden, a story of Mary Lennox and her friends gaining independence by caring for her garden, was named one of the most enjoyable children's books ever written.
Although Burnett's Mystery Gardens is currently cataloged in children's literature, it was first published in an adult magazine and then published completely in 1911.
Book's contents
In order to understand the meaning of this once-popular children's work, a brief summary of “The Mysterious Garden” by Francis Burnett should be given.
The book tells the story of Mary Lennox, a lonely girl who grew up in India but was sent to live on her uncle's estate in Yorkshire after the death of her parents. The cholera epidemic ravaged the Indian village in which she was born, killing not only Mary's parents, but Ayu, the Indian servant who took care of her. Loneliness was not new to the girl. Her secular mother did not have time for Mary between endless parties, and her father was too sick and too busy with his work to raise a daughter.
The girl’s uncle, Mr. Craven, who traveled frequently, left Mary with him to avoid memories of his late wife. The only person who has time for Mary is the maid in Uncle Mart's house. It is she who tells the girl about the walls of Mrs. Craven’s garden, which was closed and locked after her death. Mary is intrigued by the prospect of a forgotten garden, and her desire to learn the secrets of the garden leads her to discover other secrets hidden in the estate. These discoveries, combined with the incredible friendships she makes, help Mary get out of her shell and find a new charm around the world.
Mary meets the brother of Martha's maidservant, the Deacon, a tough country boy fed by the love of her mother and the nature of the countryside, as well as her cousin tyrant Colin, whose mother died giving birth to him. Mr. Craven was so traumatized by the sudden death of his beloved wife that he actually abandoned Colin's baby and hid the keys to the garden, which she adored. His son grew up a self-hating hypochondriac, whose tantrums instill fear in the hearts of servants. The lush garden is overgrown, and everyone was forbidden to enter it. No one could even remember where the door was until the robin grafted Mary to the key hidden from everyone. It is in the “mysterious garden” with the help of the Deacon that Mary and Colin find the path to physical and spiritual health. In the course of history, three children discover that in their imagination, which Colin calls "magic", there is a force that can change life.
What is this book about
Burnett’s book “The Secret Garden” is an exquisite children's story, but its eternal themes, precisely drawn characters and narrative make it worthy of serious discussion. This is a story of redemption, rich in biblical symbolism and mythical associations. In Mr. Craven, his strict brother and Mary's parents, readers found evidence of a fallen adult world. Mary and Colin are "malnourished" physically and spiritually. The redemption of Mr. Craven at the hands of Colin and his niece ensures the return of children's health and good governance to an ancient gloomy house. The deacon, constantly surrounded by a fox, a lamb and a bird, calls out St. Francis. His mother, Mrs. Sowerby, an outspoken Yorkshire woman, looks like an archetypal earthly mother and embodies an ancient folk wisdom that neither Craven nor Mary's deceased parents had.
Using traditional myths about nature, Burnett connects the spiritual growth of Mary and Colin with the seasons. Mary arrives in Misselweit in the winter as a gloomy and unhealthy child. In the spring, she begins to engage in gardening, and when crocuses and daffodils make their way through the warming ground, her body begins to bloom, and her manners soften. In the summer, Mary and Colin are completely revived, and by the time Craven returns to Misselweit in the fall, the children collect the fruits of their labor - health and happiness. Finally, the book’s overarching symbol is the mysterious garden, the lost paradise of love and happiness - perhaps this is the version of the Garden of Eden, revised and updated.
In The Mysterious Garden, Burnett easily intertwines the elements of his craft, seamlessly moving between defiant narratives and dialogue, and threads of dramatic development, complex characters, themes and symbols. Indeed, it is this extraordinary balance that makes the work not only “one of the most original and brightest children's books of this century,” as Alison Lurie says in her introduction to the publication “Twentieth Century Penguin Classic,” but also a unique novel of ideas.
Reviews of the book "The Mysterious Garden" Burnett
Readers rate the book mostly positively. Many call it the best work of their life. It makes you try to predict how events will unfold further, to draw valuable life lessons. The story remains in the readers' memory for a long time.