Left completely alone, Mary is sent to live with her wealthy but hunchbacked and reclusive uncle, Mr. Craven, at Misselthwaite Manor in England.
Facing the gloomy atmosphere of the manor with its locked doors and mysterious sounds, Mary eventually becomes friends with Martha, a warm-hearted housemaid, and Ben Weatherstaff, an elderly gardener.
Upon learning from Martha about a secret garden that belonged to her uncle's deceased wife, a garden that has been kept locked for ten years, Mary develops a strong curiosity to find it.
Gradually changing and growing stronger under the influence of nature and the windy Yorkshire moors, Mary follows a friendly robin and finds an old key buried in the dirt.
Believing this key belongs to the locked garden, Mary is eager to unlock the manor's secrets and build a secret world of her own.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Born Frances Eliza Hodgson on November 24, 1849, she was the daughter of a silversmith in Manchester, England. Following her father's death, her family moved to Knoxville, USA, in 1865. There, she began writing for American newspapers. Between 1868 and 1922, she wrote numerous novels and plays; the best-known among them are ‘The Secret Garden’, ‘A Little Princess’ and ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’.
She married Dr. Swan Burnett in 1873 and subsequently had two sons, Lionel and Vivian. She separated from her husband after the death of her eldest son. From 1901 onwards, she lived in Bermuda and on Long Island, where she developed an interest in gardening and spirituality.
She passed away on October 29, 1924.