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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.4
EAN num: 9780393060294
ISBN number: 0393060292
Label: W. W. Norton
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: October 15, 2007
Publishing house: W. W. Norton
Age index: Ages 9-12
Sale Popularity Level: 64249
Studio: W. W. Norton
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The much-loved tale read by generations of children, now annotated and with over one hundred stunning illustrations.
Frances Hodgson Burnett was famous in her time for her adult novels and her forays into children's literature with Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess. The Secret Garden, her story of an orphan girl who moves from India to the British countryside, has become a favorite book of every generation thereafter. Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, the author of the definitive biography of Burnett, brings out aspects of Burnett's life that led her to write the book, details of the Victorian England time period, attitudes toward children, and Burnett's spiritual leanings. Gerzina captures the magical nature of the tale and the coming together of three children through restoring a hidden garden. With over one hundred illustrations, many in vibrant color, The Annotated Secret Garden is an enchanting gift for any child or for any adult who is still a feisty child underneath. 55 colour and 46 black-and-white illustrations.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
I loved reading this aloud to my daughter - it has lots of illustrations and notes which help since the story is so old and set in other countries. I plan on giving these as gifts.
Rated by buyers 
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Wonderful insight from the biography to the footnotes - nice choices for illustrations as well.
I have likes all of the "annotated" series that I have read so far and hope to collect them all.
I am a history lover, an art lover and a children's book lover so this series hits all of that.
Rated by buyers -
Burnett's original novel is delightful and inspiring, and continues to be a great find for readers of all ages. The classic tale remains inspiring and charming, and the illustrations in this edition allow readers to joyfully trace the cultural evolution of the story, and its many representations.
However, the "annotations" in this edition are largely obtuse and uninspired. They offer little to the actual study of the novel, and readers would do much better to buy a traditional publication and make up their own minds.
Rated by buyers -
The name Frances Hodgson Burnett now conjures images of fusty Victorian morality stories. The Annotated Secret Garden analyzes her most well known work and reveals Burnett to have been a far more complicated writer who, while she did intend to impart a moral message, followed a theology more heterodox and diffuse than her reputation suggests.
Mary Lennox is a neglected child who is sent back to England after a cholera epidemic in India kills her parents. She is given a home at Misselthwaite Manor by her uncle, who is a self-absorbed hypochondriac. Her only friends are a servant girl and a small bird, who helps her find a secret garden in the grounds of the manor. Eventually, Mary becomes healthier, both physically and mentally, and through her efforts to revive the secret garden she finds renewal not just for herself but for her cousin Colin and her uncle as well. Burnett's theological beliefs, a mixture of Christianity, and "New Thought" or what we now call Positive Thinking, are well developed and used to good effect throughout the story.
The real pleasure of annotated volumes like this are the many notes which explain and expand on what has become confusing or obscure over time. This volume is also a pleasure because of the many fine illustrations, both in colour and grey and white, drawn from the many different editions. The Annotated Secret Garden will appeal to children being introduced to it for the very first time and to adults who, while familar with the story, may not be so aware of the background and beliefs of its author.
Rated by buyers -
This beloved children's classic is a welcome addition to Norton's Annotated Series, the tale accompanied by comments about the text, emphasizing the historical details of Mary Lennox's magical journey. The imagery is powerful- spoiled little girl, ill cousin, a lonely childhood and a garden in England that yields life-changing secrets. If one is already familiar with the story, the annotations enhance the text; personally, I have always found annotations distracting, but these are enjoyable for me because I am already familiar with the novel and curious about the information included in the commentary. In this context, I find the remarks interesting, if not vital.
The illustrations throughout are wonderful- grey and white, full color, pen and ink- reminiscent of an era when Colonialism is a natural extension of England's empire, children cared for by ayah's and nurses, until, of course, the tragedy that sends little Mary to the lonely English moors and her secret garden. To a child, such pictures are the stuff of imagination, a magical country where anything is possible, even deliverance from the cruel vagaries of fate.
Gerzina's preface highlights Burnett's personal experiences, interests and prolific writing life, this novel much applauded when it very first appeared in 1911, falling into obscurity until the illustrated edition once more captures the public's attention. Of eclectic religious tastes, Burnett's spiritual inclinations are formed by her experiences, a classic Victorian thrust into reality by circumstances and a growing emphasis on scientific investigation, deeply frightened by any specter of unhappiness and extremely sensitive to the suffering of others. How much of the author's spiritual inclinations affect her writing is left to the reader to determine.
The preface offers insights into the inspiration and focus on the magic components of hope: "The Literary Influences of The Secret Garden", "The Slow Devolution of a Classic", interpretations of the novel and Burnett's perspective in children's literature It is the background of the story as well as Burnett's history that offers a unique perspective to Mary Lennox's drama, inspired by the difficult life of a woman who continued to write despite significant obstacles. Luan Gaines/ 2007.
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