
The Secret Garden & A Little Princess (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Classic Tales of Orphan Heroines, Secret Gardens, School Hardship, and Imaginative RenewalBy Francis Hodgson BurnettLength17h 31m
About this audiobook
Bringing together The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, this volume presents two of Frances Hodgson Burnett's most enduring studies of childhood under pressure. Both novels combine melodrama, fairy-tale patterning, and social realism, transforming orphanhood, illness, neglect, and class injustice into narratives of moral and imaginative renewal. Written in the context of late-Victorian and Edwardian children's literature, they refine the period's concern with character formation while granting unusual authority to the inner lives of girls. Burnett, born in Manchester in 1849 and later emigrating to the United States, wrote from a distinctly transatlantic perspective shaped by insecurity, bereavement, and changing social worlds. Her own childhood experience of reduced circumstances, her fascination with gardens, domestic spaces, and spiritual resilience, and her professional life as a highly successful woman author all inform these works. She understood both deprivation and performance, and she repeatedly turned them into art. This paired edition is recommended for readers interested in classic children's literature, gender, class, and the consoling power of imagination. It offers not merely nostalgia, but a sophisticated vision of how children survive harsh systems by remaking the worlds around them.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
GenreChildren's Literature
Length17 hrs 31 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 22, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Author Biography
4Historical Context
5Synopsis (Selection)
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6The Secret Garden & A Little Princess
7Chapter 1 There is No One Left
8Chapter 2 Mistress Mary Quite Contrary
9Chapter 3 Across the Moor
10Chapter 4 Martha
11Chapter 5 The Cry in the Corridor
12Chapter 6 “There was Some One Crying — There was!”
13Chapter 7 The Key of the Garden
14Chapter 8 The Robin who Showed the Way
15Chapter 9 The Strangest House Any One Ever Lived in
16Chapter 10 Dickon
17Chapter 11 The Nest of the Missel Thrush
18Chapter 12 “Might I have a Bit of Earth?”
19Chapter 13 “I Am Colin”
20Chapter 14 A Young Rajah
21Chapter 15 Nest Building
22Chapter 16 “I Won’t!” Said Mary
23Chapter 17 A Tantrum
24Chapter 18 “Tha’ Munnot Waste No Time”
25Chapter 19 “It has Come!”
26Chapter 20 “I Shall Live Forever — And Ever — AND EVER!”
27Chapter 21 Ben Weatherstaff
28Chapter 22 When the Sun Went Down
29Chapter 23 Magic
30Chapter 24 “Let Them Laugh”
31Chapter 25 The Curtain
32Chapter 26 “It’s Mother!”
33Chapter 27 In the Garden
34The Whole of the Story
35Chapter I Sara
36Chapter II A French Lesson
37Chapter III Ermengarde
38Chapter IV Lottie
39Chapter V Becky
40Chapter VI The Diamond-Mines
41Chapter VII The Diamond-Mines Again
42Chapter VIII In the Attic
43Chapter IX Melchisedec
44Chapter X The Indian Gentleman
45Chapter XI Ram Dass
46Chapter XII The Other Side of the Wall
47Chapter XIII One of the Populace
48Chapter XIV What Melchisedec Heard and Saw
49Chapter XV The Magic
50Chapter XVI The Visitor