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The Secret Garden Hardcover - 1998

by Frances Hodgson Burnett


About this book

The Secret Garden, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett, has remained one of the most popular children’s books since its publication in The American Magazine in 1910. The story tells of childhood emotions and experiences while keeping the central theme - if something is cared for, it will thrive. 

The Secret Garden introduces us to a sour little girl, Mary Lennox, who is NOT a pleasure to be around. In fact, she yells like a little princess, can't make friends, and simply despises everything.

She remains quite contrary until she helps her garden grow - and finds someone worse off than herself to bring along for the ride. 

Burnett was a British American novelist and playwright, best known for her novels Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden. She regularly found inspiration through her observations of nature and the walled gardens at Maytham Hall in Kent England.

The American Magazine published the first edition of The Secret Garden in 1910


From the publisher

This beautifully designed, jacketed hardcover edition of The Secret Garden is unabridged and includes 8 illustrations by Charles Robinson. When Mary Lennox is sent from India to the moors of England to live with her uncle after losing her parents, not only does she discover a secret garden, but she also discovers the true meaning of family, friendship, and perseverance. This magical, timeless classic, originally published in 1911, is by the author of A Little Princess and Little Lord Faunteleroy. Essential volumes for the shelves of every classic literature lover, the Chartwell Classics series includes beautifully presented works and collections from some of the most important authors in literary history. Chartwell Classics are the editions of choice for the most discerning literature buffs. Other titles in the Chartwell Classics Series include: Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft; Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales; Complete Novels of Jane Austen; Complete Sherlock Holme; Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allen Poe; Complete Works of William Shakespeare; Divine Comedy; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Other Tales; The Essential Tales of H.P. Lovecraft; The Federalist Papers; The Inferno; The Call of the Wild and White Fang; Moby Dick; The Odyssey; Pride and Prejudice; The Essential Grimm's Fairy Tales; Emma; The Great Gatsby; Anne of Green Gables; The Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe; The Phantom of the Opera; The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital; Republic; Frankenstein; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; The Picture of Dorian Gray; Meditations; Wuthering Heights; Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass; A Tales of Two Cities; Beowulf; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Little Women

First Edition Identification

The book was first published by Heinemann in London in 1911 with illustrations by Charles Heath Robinson as a British edition.  The first American edition was published by Fredrick A Stokes and Company with illustration by Maria Louise Kirk. 

The original British edition features green cloth with gilt titles & decoration to the upperboard and spine. This can be identified by a publication date on the front panel.


The First American released two editions simultaneously, one featuring the publisher’s green cloth with illustration only on the upper board and gilt lettering to the spine. The other in blue cloth without illustrations.


Details

  • Title The Secret Garden
  • Author Frances Hodgson Burnett
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Pages 248
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher North Books
  • Date 1998-09
  • ISBN 9781582870694 / 1582870691
  • Weight 1.01 lbs (0.46 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.53 x 5.58 x 0.91 in (21.67 x 14.17 x 2.31 cm)
  • Ages 08 to 11 years
  • Grade levels 3 - 6
  • Reading level 970
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

About the author

Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was an English writer and playwright. In 1865, she and her family emigrated to the United States, settling in Tennessee. At the age of nineteen, she began writing and publishing stories in magazines to help support her family. She married in 1872 and began writing novels a few years later, becoming a successful writer of both children's fiction and adult romances.

Charles Robinson (1870-1937) was one of the most popular and prolific black-and-white artists of the Edwardian era. Brother of the artists Thomas and William Heath Robinson, he came to prominence when asked to illustrate Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.