This was one of my favourite books as a child and I came across a copy at a second-hand store in Christchurch and couldn't resist. It tells the story of a petulant young girl called Mary who goes to live in England with her widowed uncle after the death of her uncaring parents in India. With the help of her personal maid Martha and Martha's son Dickon, Mary begins to come out of her defensive shell and throughout the book turns from a painfully pale and sickly looking child into a happy child.
The title is given to the book by a garden which peeks Mary's curiousity and that of a small robin she befriends at the beginning of the book. The garden is transformed by Mary's discovery of it and it blossoms with her. As well as this, the secret crying that Mary hears at strange times of the night leads to another discovery. The garden becomes the central inspiration for the characters in the book who find themselves recreating the family they lost through the opportunities the garden creates. This book shows the way that nature can effect change in the dreariest of circumstances.
I definitely relived my childhood reading this book again! It's also beautifully written and easy to become involved with the characters, despite their flaws. I hope to reread another FHB favourite, A Little Princess as well soon.
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