When we told friends that we were following our illustrated abridgements of A Christmas Carol and Black Beauty with The Secret Garden, we were stunned by the reaction.
This turns out to be the favorite book of not just one generation, but of many. Every reader remembered the characters as if they were old friends: Mary, the frightened orphan sent from India to an ancient mansion in the English moors; Dickon, who can talk to the birds and make plants grow anywhere; and Colin, the physically challenged boy who spent his childhood in his bed.
Everyone remembered cheering and weeping when Colin got out of his wheelchair and stood tall in the locked garden where his mother died, and when his endlessly sad father (whose wife died when a branch fell on her in her garden) returns from yet another flight from his decade-long mourning and literally bumps into his son. Yes, The Secret Garden delivers an enormous emotional release.
The Secret Garden was a radical departure from English novels in 1911, the year it was published. It isn’t now. The most important newsbreak isn’t Colin’s ascent from his sickbed, it’s Mary taking charge of the abandoned garden and bringing it — and Colin — back to life. Typically, the father would have been the strong, dominant leader in 1911. It was a break with traditional storytelling that Colin’s ascent from his sickbed is engineered by an equally sad but very determined 10-year-old girl. And when Mary astutely enlists Dickon, who lives in harmony with nature, to bring the garden and Colin back to life, he’s perfectly content to report to her, which is very 21st century.
We don’t notice the difference between then and now because the story is so straightforward, the characters are motivated by such simple desires, and a very happy ending arrives exactly on schedule — The Secret Garden reads like a reader-friendly contemporary novel. Published as a story for adults, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel was immediately popular and sold briskly, but was not considered a classic of English children’s literature. The elements were too thorny for that time — the girl is the leader, the rich male landowner is depressed and often absent, and both Mary and Colin are wounded children who don’t make readers want to hug them.
Books that adults give to children are one path to their survival. In the last century, four film adaptations helped. But the novel is 80,000 words — a hearty meal. Is this adaptation the right idea for an age that wants, in children’s fiction, a vivid action plot and no loose ends? We hope so. The Secret Garden is a classic that deserves to remain a classic. At 35,000 words, we like to think we are doing our part.
Gretchen Kimball and Connie Wiley hosted a book party on the Belvedere Lagoon for Paige Peterson on October 30th. Paige’s three books: A Christmas Carol, Black Beauty, and her most recent book, The Secret Garden, were celebrated. Paige and her collaborator Jesse Kornbluth took all three books and abridged them for a friendlier read. The Secret Garden was originally 80,000 words. Paige and Jesse abridged The Secret Garden to 35,000 words and produced breathtaking images to enhance the story. The magician Patrick Martin, entertained the gathering. Cheryl Bronstein from Book Passage promoted the three books while introducing Paige. All three books are exclusively sold at Book Passage.
Paige Peterson is the author of “Growing Up Belvedere-Tiburon.” She Illustrated “Blackie, The Horse Who Stood Still,” which she co-authored with Christopher Cerf. As an illustrator, she has collaborated on “A Christmas Carol” and “Black Beauty,” adapted by Jesse Kornbluth. As a painter, she is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in New York and has been honored by The Guild Hall Academy of the Arts in East Hampton. As a photojournalist, Paige has reported extensively about the Middle East. As a journalist, she has contributed to Marin Magazine, New York Social Diary and the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations. She is the Author and Artist in Residence at Literacy Partners, a Board Member of Catmosphere, National Council on U.S. Arab Relations and Safari West Wildlife Foundation. Raised in Belvedere, California, Ms. Peterson has two grown children and lives in New York City. Paige M Peterson.com
