BritLit - The Secret Garden....

Lanhydrock Estate

...at  Lanhydrock?  Possibly the Secret Garden is a lot like the one we visited here at the Victorian estate Lanhydrock in Cornwall, England.

Have you ever smelled a magnolia on a tree? 


 

Or painted a poppy?

 

Or wandered through a covered path?

Or discovered a hidden gate?

Or explored the estate of a royal family that welcomed the public as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales? 

Regulation gown for
attending the coronation

Playing around in the gatehouse was so fun!

     











    





     If you haven't done those things, you can let your imagination take you there by reading Frances Burnett's The Secret Garden or re-reading it if you read it as a child.

     The Secret Garden is set in England in the late 1800's in a cold, quiet mansion. Mary, whose wealthy family has died of the plague while in India, is sent to live under her Uncle's care, but ends up being cared for by the servants who believe children should play outdoors all day. Once she gets over the shock of being in nature, she meets the stable-boy Colin and all his furry friends. Also, she meets Dicken, her sickly cousin who has been hidden away in his room "dying" from his crooked back. Mary finds out that there's a walled section of the yard she can't access and searches for the entrance. Finally, she discovers a locked door hidden under the vines. She tells Dicken all about her adventures with Colin in their secret garden and he soon becomes jealous enough to come outside. Eventually they get Colin up out of his chair learning to walk and even run. It's a great story about healing and friendship and also about those times when as children, we are free to explore and have adventures.

 Did you have a secret clubhouse? Or climbing tree that served as a pirate's mast? 
Do you remember running free?

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