A Review of the Bestselling Novel and Motion Picture by
Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mary Lennox was born in India. She described it as being a hot, strange, and lonely place. Her ayah was the only one who looked after her and Mary was quite spoiled, as her parents were rich. They never paid attention to her, instead they busied themselves with going to parties out in the city. One night, as her parents are out at a party, an earthquake erupts and before she knew it, Mary lost her parents forever. Now an orphan, she gets placed on a boat to go live with a distant relative, her Uncle Craven at Misselthwaite Manor. The whole trip to the docking area, the kids around her teased her with this song:

“Mistress Mary, quite contrary,
how does your garden grow?
with silver bells and cockle shells,
and marigolds all in a row?”

“Number 44, Mary Lennox,” said the man, reading off a list of names once relatives arrived.

Mrs. Medlock never came to get her, which caused more laughs, and Mary waited til the very end to go to the Manor. Throughout the whole story, Mary meets Dickon, the garden keeper, and the curious plump Robin that follows her and guides her. She meets her cousin Colin, that is sickly and supposedly can’t walk. She even connects with her distant Uncle Craven.

This story is certainly the kind that you can watch and read a lot without ever really getting tired of it. It’s timeless and classic and I really recommend it.