9 h 15 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 15 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a locked garden holds the first thing a lonely child truly wants to care for?
Mary Lennox arrives from India at her uncle’s huge house in Yorkshire with a sour temper and no one to love. In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, the lonely ten-year-old finds a mystery beyond the house: a walled garden that has been locked for ten years.
With help from Dickon Sowerby, a cheerful boy who knows plants and wild creatures, Mary begins to tend the neglected ground. Her cousin Colin Craven lives shut away in his room, frightened of the world. As friendship takes root, the story asks what care can awaken in children who have known too little of it.
What you’ll discover
- A garden worth tending Follow Mary’s curiosity toward small green shoots, stubborn weeds, and a reason to care.
- Friends who speak plainly Meet Martha and Dickon, whose honesty and warmth challenge Mary’s lonely habits.
- Secrets behind closed doors Explore a great Yorkshire house where distant crying draws Mary down the corridor.
- Nature close at hand Find a robin, wild creatures, and fresh air woven into the children’s changing lives.
- Care that helps things grow Discover a gentle story that connects tending a garden with tending wounded feelings.
Who will love it
This warm, lively tale of children helping one another grow strong will appeal to readers who enjoy gardens, animals and stories of friendship.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A child nobody wanted is left alone
- A journey to a house of locked rooms
- A maid and a gardener teach her honesty
- The moor air wakes her up
- A walled garden and a boy who charms animals
- A bit of earth and a boy in the dark
- A fierce quarrel breaks the spell of tantrums
- Colin sees spring and stands on his own legs
- Magic is the power of cheerful thoughts
- A mother's warmth and a house coming alive
Who’s who
- Mary LennoxA neglected, sour ten year old from India who comes to Yorkshire and finds a hidden garden that begins to change her.
- Colin CravenHer sickly cousin, who lies hidden in a bedroom, ruling the servants and sure that he will not live to grow up.
- Dickon SowerbyA twelve year old moor boy who charms wild creatures and knows how to make anything grow.
- Martha SowerbyThe plain-spoken Yorkshire housemaid who teaches Mary to dress herself and tells her about her family.
- Ben WeatherstaffA grumpy old gardener whose only friend is a robin, and who once worked in the secret garden.
- Archibald CravenMary's uncle and Colin's father, a man so sad over his wife's death that he wanders abroad.
- Mrs. MedlockThe stout, sharp housekeeper of Misselthwaite Manor, who obeys her master and tries to keep order.
- Susan SowerbyMartha and Dickon's wise, warm mother, who has twelve children and knows what children need.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett · 1911
A lonely girl in Yorkshire follows a robin to a door that no one has opened for ten years.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens to a child no one ever wanted? Mary Lennox, born in India, wakes one hot morning to find her house silent.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A child nobody wanted is left alone
Mary Lennox is born in India to a father who is always busy and a mother who loves parties. Her mother never wanted a daughter and hands her to an Ayah. Mary is given whatever she demands. By ten she is yellow, thin and cross.
One morning the Ayah does not come. Cholera has broken out, and by the next day people are dying in every bungalow. Mary hides in the nursery and sleeps. When she wakes, the house is perfectly still. Soldiers find the child no one ever saw. She stamps her foot and asks why she was forgotten. One of the men says there is no one left to come.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Also in the Children’s Classics Book Set: Five Books
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1911
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 6 h 0 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-garden.
Burnett, F. H. (2026). The secret garden. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-garden (Original work published 1911)
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-garden.
@book{burnett2026secret,
author = {Burnett, Frances Hodgson},
title = {The Secret Garden},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-secret-garden},
note = {First published 1911}
}
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Secret Garden
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Secret Garden about?
It tells of Mary Lennox, an orphaned girl sent from India to a Yorkshire manor. She finds a locked garden, befriends a boy named Dickon and a sick cousin named Colin, and all three are changed by the garden.
Who are Mary, Colin and Dickon?
Mary is a lonely, bad-tempered girl who becomes curious and kind. Colin is her cousin, a boy who believes he is dying. Dickon is a moor boy who understands animals and plants, and he helps them both.
What is the secret garden and why was it locked?
It is a walled garden at Misselthwaite Manor that belonged to Mr. Craven's wife. After she died in an accident there, he locked the door and buried the key. It was locked for ten years, but someone had secretly tended its roses.
The author
Frances Hodgson Burnett
1849–1924 · English-American novelist and playwright
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was a novelist and playwright born in Manchester, England. She moved to the United States in 1865 and later lived in England and New York. Her books include Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911). She died in New York.
More by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Ver todos sus librosMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
