Showing results by author "Frances Burnett" in All Categories

What the Narnia books did for wardrobes, The Secret Garden did for the walled garden. Few readers can fail to share with Mary Lennox that inexplicable thrill of anticipation at the notion of an enclosed and secret world, bursting with potential life and beauty but remaining hidden from view. As Mary herself observes, 'Here was another locked door, added to the hundred in the strange house'.

When a young British girl, born and reared in India, loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake, she is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Due to the loss of his wife ten years before, her uncle is very distant and, once again, the girl finds herself ignored. As she grows accustomed to the house and its inhabitants, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden, the doors of which have been locked.

To prepare his daughter, Sara, for society, wealthy widower Captain Ralph Crewe enrolls her in Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Unspoiled and genial, Sara is given all the luxuries her father can afford - and the obsequious Miss Minchin is happy to indulge. But when her father dies and his fortune is lost, Sara is forced into servitude, stripped of her privileges and possessions, and subjected to Miss Minchin's true cruel nature.

With her wonderful storytelling abilities and endless array of gorgeous clothes and toys, little Sara Crewe seems to everyone at her boarding school like the luckiest girl in the world - a 'little princess'. no less. But one day disaster strikes, and she is moved into an attic and turned overnight into a drudge.

All but a little cluster of her most loyal friends turn their backs upon her. Constantly cold, with barely enough to eat, and reduced to wearing the outgrown tatters of her former wardrobe, how will she cope?

When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle's great house, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly 100 rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying echoing down one of the long corridors. The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary's only escape. One day, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. With the help of two unexpected companions, Mary discovers a way in - and becomes determined to bring the garden back to life.

When Mary Lennox is sent from India to live with her uncle at gloomy Misselthwaite Manor, she is the most spoiled and contrary child you could ever meet. But she is also extremely lonely. Until one day, she discovers a walled garden that has been kept secret for years. With the help of a little robin, Mary unearths the key and unlocks the wonder that lies beyond the garden walls - and finds that making friends can be every bit life-changing as a magical garden.

Mary Lennox, a sickly and contrary little girl, is orphaned to dim prospects in a gloomy English manor - her only friend is a bed-ridden boy named Colin whose prospects may be dimmer than hers. But when Mary finds the key to a Secret Garden, the magical powers of transformation fall within her reach. A beloved classic of children's literature The Secret Garden tells an inspirational tale of transformation and empowerment.

Written by British-born author Frances Hodgson Burnett and first published in 1905, A Little Princess tells the story of young Sara Crewe, privileged daughter of a wealthy diamond merchant. All the other girls at Miss Minchin's school treat Sara as if she truly were a princess. But when Captain Crewe's fortune is sadly lost, Sara's luck changes. Suddenly she is treated no better than a scullery maid.

Mary Lennox is a sick and spoiled child living in India. After her parents die of cholera, she returns to England. There her health improves while meeting all sorts of strange and wonderful people and friends. Mary has all kinds of adventures with weird sounds in the night, amusing accents, and a locked garden. The Secret Garden is a magical book about friendship, tenacity, and willpower.

Mary, a lonely orphaned girl sent to a Yorkshire mansion at the edge of a vast, lonely moor. At first she is frightened by this gloomy place until she meets a local boy, Dickon, who's earned the trust of the moor's wild animals; the invalid Colin, an unhappy boy terrified of life; and a mysterious, abandoned garden....

The Frances Hodgson Burnett Collection includes book one, The Secret Garden (1911), the narrative of a child's journey into maturity, with themes of hope, healing, and redemption. Book two, A Little Princess (1905), tells the story of Sara Crewe, whose father dies and leaves her penniless. Making the best of the situation, she eventually triumphs. Book three, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), is the story of a poor little boy from New York City who is called to England to become a member of the nobility.

A Little Princess tells the story of Sara Crewe, daughter of a rich English officer stationed in India, who is sent to Miss Minchin's boarding school in London. Despite her wealth and privilege, Sara is kind and generous, befriending everyone from school outcast Ermengarde and motherless toddler Lottie to the teenage scullery maid Becky. When Sara's status is abruptly changed, her resolve to behave like a princess no matter her circumstances is put to the test. Frances Hodgson Burnet's children's classic is performed by a full cast and will be loved by listeners of all ages.

Alison Larkin’s Earphones Award-winning recordings of Jane Eyre and The Secret Garden are brought together in this powerful double bill. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is the epic love story of the plain, unwanted orphan with an indomitable spirit who becomes a great romantic heroine despite all odds. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is the story of Mary Lennox, sent to live with her uncle in a cold, dark mansion in England.

A beloved classic, The Secret Garden can now be enjoyed with an even deeper appreciation of the delightful story, ever-relevant themes, and moving imagery. Rachel Dodge’s expert analysis brings the story to life through beautifully formed character analysis, heavily researched historical context, and her own passion for classics and for this timeless novel in particular.

Brought from India to chilly, fog-bound London, Sara Crewe is enrolled as a pupil at Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Young Ladies. Her doting father, Captain Crewe, has provided her with fine clothes and luxuries fit for a princess and she attracts envious attention. But Sara soon wins friends with her kindness, taking the school's misfits under her wing, and telling them wonderful stories to cheer them up. Yet despite her best efforts, her spiteful classmate, Lavinia, and mean headmistress, Miss Minchin, remain determined to dislike her.

War looms in a small forgotten eastern European country. But war is nothing new to Samavia. The once idyllic land has been in continual struggle since the last young rightful leader was smuggled across borders to prevent his death in a violent coupe centuries before. This lost prince, or his heirs, are possibly the only thing that can restore order and peace to a once vibrant land and people. But where have they disappeared to? Two young boys are entrusted with a vital and dangerous task with the hopes of restoring the rightful ruler to the small country of Samavia.

Young Sara Crewe grew up in a well-to-do household, but she suddenly finds herself impoverished when her father, Captain Crewe, dies penniless in India. Sara is forced to abandon her life of privilege for a life of bare existence at Miss Minchin's boarding school. To survive those hard times, she imagines herself to be a princess as she awaits her rescue from a mysterious benefactor.

Poor Sara Crewe. Once upon a time her beloved father pampered and adored her. But ever since he died, leaving her alone and penniless, she's been caught in the cruel clutches of Miss Minchin, the headmistress at the Select Seminary for Young Ladies, where Sara once studied. But no matter how terrible things get, Sara always has her imagination and goodness of heart to carry her through. This timeless tale of a poor orphan has won children's hearts for a century - and continues to be a favorite.

Rosalie Vanderpoel, the daughter of an American multimillionaire marries an impoverished English baronet and goes to live in England. She all but loses contact with her family in America. Years later her younger sister Bettina, beautiful, intelligent and extremely rich, goes to England to find what has happened to her sister. She finds Rosalie shabby and dispirited, cowed by her husband's ill-treatment. Bettina sets about to rectify matters.

Emily rents a room in a boarding house in London where she makes a modest living as an assistant to aristocratic ladies. One summer, Lady Maria Bayne asks Emily to her country estate and it’s there that Emily receives a very surprising offer of marriage from a wealthy widower in need of a wife. But Emily’s new life is not without its own obstacles and challenges.