Unearthing the Secret Garden - by Marta McDowell (Hardcover)

About the Book

Marta McDowell returns with a beautiful, gift-worthy account of how plants and gardening deepy inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of the beloved children's classic The Secret Garden.

Book Synopsis

"Affectionate and informative, Unearthing the Secret Garden is not unlike a garden itself, with its smooth lawns of prose and striking shows of illustration and photography." --The Wall Street Journal

"With a sprightly tone, infectious enthusiasm, and a professor's penchant for scholarly detail, McDowell brings keen insight and critical assessment to the life and works of this beloved author." --Booklist

The Secret Garden is one of the most beloved children's classics, and its author Frances Hodgson Burnett was not only a prolific writer but also a lover of flowers and gardens. In Unearthing The Secret Garden, Marta McDowell delves into Burnett's professional and gardening life. McDowell chronicles how Burnett's interest in gardens developed along with her work as a writer. Readers will learn about Burnett's three gardens in England, Long Island, and Bermuda. Gardeners will delight in the guide to plats featured in The Secret Garden and McDowell's transcriptions of three of Burnett's garden-themed short stories. Throughout, the delightful text is complimented by period illustrations and contemporary photographs.

This deeply moving and gift-worthy book is a must-read for fans of The Secret Garden and anyone who loves the story behind the story.

From the Back Cover

The Secret Garden is indisputably one of the most beloved children's classics. Published in 1911, it has never been out of print, selling millions of copies worldwide. What many readers don't know, however, is that its author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, was one of the most popular and prolific writers of her time. Unsurprisingly, she was also a lover of flowers and gardens--but the path to her literary triumph was a long one, beset with personal tragedy and frequent illness.

In Unearthing The Secret Garden, best-selling author Marta McDowell starts by chronicling Burnett's childhood and early life, with a focus on her growing interest in gardens and her development as a writer. McDowell also shares details of the three gardens Burnett created in Kent, Long Island, and Bermuda. A guide to the plants featured in The Secret Garden will delight gardeners. And in a unique addition, McDowell transcribes the complete text of three of Burnett's garden-themed stories, which help to deepen our appreciation of Burnett's love and knowledge of gardening. McDowell complements her delightful text with period illustrations and contemporary photographs that bring Burnett's world vividly to life for the reader, and the book's stunning design makes it a joy to leaf through.

Just as The Secret Garden continues to enchant readers of all ages, so Unearthing The Secret Garden draws us into a richly textured account of the fascinating professional and gardening life that gave us one of literature's greatest treasures.

Review Quotes

"From walled and terraced flower beds can sprout beloved children's fiction, as the historian Marta McDowell chronicles in Unearthing the Secret Garden." --The New York Times

"Affectionate and informative, Unearthing the Secret Garden is not unlike a garden itself, with its smooth lawns of prose and striking shows of illustration and photography. As in Burnett's enclosures at Maytham Hall, one is forever turning a corner--or, rather, a page--and coming across a fresh vista." --The Wall Street Journal

"With a sprightly tone, infectious enthusiasm, and a professor's penchant for scholarly detail, McDowell brings keen insight and critical assessment to the life and works of this beloved author." --Booklist

"This book is for anyone who loves reading or gardening or exploring the history of places and lives entwined." --Gardens Illustrated

"Rich in details, lavish with illustrations, including many from the story's various print versions, this book is a must-have for anyone whose first horticulture passions were triggered by hat gateway drug to gardening, otherwise known as The Secret Garden." --The Washington Gardener

"Blooming with photos, illustrations, and botanical paintings, McDowell's gorgeous book opens an ivy-covered door to new information about one of the world's most famous authors."--Angelica Shirley Carpenter, editor of In the Garden: Essays in Honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett

"McDowell's beautiful writing and research take us all on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of a blooming world that has only existed in our imaginations, until now."--Keri Wilt, motivational speaker and writer and great-great-granddaughter of Frances Hodgson Burnett

"McDowell's blending of this abiding fiction with its author's real life is safe and sure. New readers--young and old--will be propelled into a faraway enchanted world now magically reawakened more than a hundred years on."--David Wheeler, editor, Hortus

"Unearthing the Secret Garden brings Burnett to life as someone the reader would happily meet, in or out of her various gardens, to sit in the shade with a cheerful robin nearby while talking of roses and flowers and life." --Bellwood Gardens

"Marta McDowell's gorgeous, deeply felt tribute to the timeless tale. Filled with photographs of the flowers, plants, and gardens that inspired Burnett." --The Literary Ladies Guide

"Marta McDowell comprehensively explores the esteemed author's life before her famous story and after it, and includes a guide to the book itself." --Bas Bleu

"McDowell will help us see how Burnett's gardens evolved and were influenced by her book before, during and after its publication." --The Start Democrat

"This charming book is a must-read for fans of The Secret Garden and anyone who loves the story behind the story." --The Emporia Gazette

About the Author

Marta McDowell's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Woman's Day, Country Gardening, and elsewhere. Her previous books include Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life, All the Presidents' Gardens, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life, Unearthing The Secret Garden, and Gardening Can Be Murder. She consults for public gardens and private clients, writes and lectures on gardening topics, and teaches landscape history and horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, where she studied landscape design. She lives, writes, and gardens in Chatham, New Jersey.