The New York Times wrote of The Secret Garden, “Many authors can write delightful books for children; a few can write entertaining books about children for adults; but it is only the exceptional author who can write a book about children with sufficient skill, charm, simplicity, and significance to make it acceptable to both young and old.” Perhaps this quality of being a book that appeals to children but remains pleasurable for adult readers is the key to the remarkable, enduring popularity of this Edwardian story of horticultural redemption for its protagonists, a cross, unlovely little girl, brought from India to an unfamiliar England, and a sickly boy given to temper tantrums.

This Broadview Edition provides extensive historical materials related to the novel’s publication and reception, as well as up-to-date and nuanced critical context.