After staying briefly with an English clergyman, she is sent to England to live with a widowed uncle, his huge Yorkshire estate, but he is rarely there. Consequently, she is brought to the estate by the head housekeeper who shuts her into a room and tells her not to explore the house. Later on, her interaction with nature transforms her and she becomes kinder and more considerate. The Secret Garden is a tale of transformation and feeling of extreme happiness in the presence of nature. The physical and spiritual healing that Mary experiences in the garden is mirrored in the nature’s seasons.
Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was American playwright and author who rose to fame after writing the popular novel Little Lord Fauntleroy. That Lass o’ Lowrie’s was Burnett’s first novel, which had been serialized and published in 1877. Like her short stories, the book contains a remarkable detail in portraying scenes of working-class life. Burnett also wrote the novels Haworth’s (1879), Louisiana (1880), A Fair Barbarian (1881), and Through One Administration (1883), as well as a play, Esmeralda (1881). Burnett’s later books include Sara Crewe, dramatized as The Little Princess), and The Secret Garden, both of which were also written for children. The Lady of Quality (1896) has been considered the best of her other plays. In 1893 she published a memoir of her youth, The One I Knew Best of All.