Frances Hodgson Burnett

C dric, un petit gar on am ricain, apprend qu'il est l'unique h ritier d'un comte anglais. Il quitte New York avec sa m re pour aller vivre dans le ch teau de ses anc tres. Mais son grand-p re, le comte de Dorincourt, pr cise bien que seul le gar on pourra habiter dans le ch teau. Sa m re, Ch rie (Dearest en anglais), habitera dans une maison s par e, hors du p rim tre du ch teau. Ch rie est la veuve du fils du comte de Dorincourt, que son p re a rejet pour avoir pous une roturi re, une Am ricaine de surcro t. Hargneux, m fiant, dur, le vieux comte n'a rappel l'enfant que parce qu'il est son unique h ritier et il pense trouver un gamin mal lev . Mais le petit lord a t fort bien lev par sa m re et par un entourage clectique: un cireur de chaussures et un picier, tous deux pleins de bon sens. Ainsi, le petit lord a acquis les qualit s humaines qui font d faut au comte, et comme il ne se laisse pas impressionner par l'apparente s v rit de son grand-p re, le vieil homme, peu peu, est s duit par l'enfant. Il finit m me par accepter de recevoir la m re qui appara t non comme une intrigante, mais comme une personne de grande qualit . Ch rie, dont la pr sence manquait beaucoup l'enfant, est finalement admise au ch teau, et le petit lord prouve une sinc re affection pour ce grognon de grand-p re qui, au fond, n'est pas m chant.

The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story. David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of story. David R. Hill, Director of the Edinburgh Project on Extensive Reading.

Den hemliga trädgården på arabiska! En nyckel och en hemlig trädgård blir början på ett stort äventyr i Frances Hodgson-Burnetts kultförklarade klassiker. När tioåriga Mary Lennox förlorar båda sina föräldrar i en koleraepidemi skickas hon från Indien till sin farbrors ensliga hem i England. Mary är både bortskämd och odräglig, och i början är den nya tillvaron både mystisk och skrämmande. Men snart får Mary nya vänner den snälla husjungfrun Martha, djurtjusaren Dickon och den buttre gamle trädgårdsmästaren Ben Weatherstaff. När hon lär känna en kusin som hon inte visste fanns och finner nyckeln till en trädgård som varit låst i tio år förändras allt. Trädgården öppnar en förtrollad värld som kommer att förändra både henne själv och allt hon känner till. Frances Hodgson-Burnetts Den hemliga trädgården räknas till de verkliga klassikerna. En utvecklingsroman om att växa upp, överkomma svårigheter och lära sig lita på sitt hjärta.

A Classic of English Children's LiteratureThe Secret GardenBy Frances Hodgson BurnettThe Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published in serial format starting in the autumn of 1910, and was first published in its entirety in 1911. It is now one of Burnett's most popular novels, and is considered to be a classic of English children's literature. Several stage and film adaptations have been produced. Mary Lennox is a very troubled, sickly, and unloved 10-year-old girl who was born in India to selfish, wealthy British parents who never wanted her and were too wrapped up in their own lives to love or care about her. She was taken care of primarily by servants, who pacified her as much as possible to keep her out of her parents' way. Spoiled and selfish, she is aggressive, surly, rude, and obstinate. Later, there is a cholera epidemic which hits India and kills her parents and all the servants. She is discovered alone but alive after the house is empty. She briefly lives with an English clergyman and his family and is then sent to Yorkshire, England, to live with Archibald Craven, an uncle she has never met, at his home called Misselthwaite Manor. At first, Mary is her usual self, sour and rude, disliking her uncle's large house, the people within it and most of all the vast stretch of moor, which seems scrubby and grey after the winter. She is told that she must stay confined to her two rooms and that nobody will bother much with her and she must amuse herself. Martha Sowerby, a good-natured maid, tells Mary a story of the late Mrs. Craven and how she would spend hours in a private walled garden growing roses. Later, Mrs. Craven fell to her death when she sat on a tree branch that broke under her weight, and Mr. Craven had the garden locked and the key buried. Mary is roused by this story and starts to soften her ill manner despite herself. Soon, she begins to lose her disposition and gradually comes to enjoy the company of Martha, Ben Weatherstaff the gardener, and also that of a friendly robin redbreast, to whom she attaches human qualities. Her appetite increases and she finds herself getting stronger as she plays by herself on the moor. Martha's mother buys Mary a skipping rope to encourage this, and she takes to it immediately. Mary's time is occupied by wondering about the secret garden and a strange crying sound that can sometimes be heard around the house which the servants ignore or deny. As Mary is exploring the gardens, she is alerted to some turned up soil by the inquisitive robin, and finds a key belonging to the locked garden, and, next day, the door into the garden. She chances to ask Martha for garden tools, which Martha has delivered by Dickon, her twelve-year-old brother. Mary and Dickon take a liking to each other, as Dickon has a soft way with animals and a good nature. Eager to absorb his gardening knowledge, Mary lets him into the secret of the garden, which he agrees to keep secret.