How does The Secret Garden end?

Archibald Craven returns from the Alps, hears children laughing in the garden, and is met by Colin running into his arms. He sees that his son is healthy and strong, and they walk into the manor together.

What is the relationship between Mary and Colin?

They are cousins who live in the same house without knowing it. They meet when Mary follows a sound of crying, and they become close friends who help each other.

Where and when is The Secret Garden set?

Misselthwaite Manor stands on the Yorkshire moors in England. The story begins in colonial India, where Mary's parents die of cholera, and in a time of coaches and wheeled invalid chairs.

He is Martha's younger brother, a boy from the moor who can talk to animals. He helps Mary plant the garden and later helps Colin walk.

What is the Magic in The Secret Garden?

The children use it for the life and strength they feel in the garden. Susan Sowerby tells Colin some call it Magic and some call it God, but it is all the same Joy.

Story summary

The Secret Garden summary

A sour, lonely orphan sent to a Yorkshire manor finds a locked garden, and begins to bring it, and everyone around her, back to life.

The Secret Garden begins in India, where young Mary Lennox is left alone after a cholera outbreak. She is sent to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven, at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire moors. The house has a hundred rooms, most of them locked, and a garden that has been shut for ten years since the death of Mrs. Craven.

It is a gentle story of friendship, fresh air and healing, with a robin, a hidden key and a sickly cousin at its center. It suits readers who like classic children's stories, nature and gardening, and tales of unlikely friends who change one another.

Main characters

The plot

Spoilers from here on, including the ending.

From India to the moor

Mary, a neglected and tyrannical child, is left behind when cholera strikes. Officers find her and she is sent to England, where the housekeeper Mrs. Medlock meets her and brings her by carriage across the dark moor to Misselthwaite Manor.

Mary has never been told she is unwelcome, but she senses it everywhere: in the shut doors, the empty corridors and the whisper of wind around the old stone walls.

Martha, Ben and the robin

The Yorkshire housemaid Martha is the first to be kind to Mary, telling her about her brother Dickon and the garden locked for ten years. Outside, Mary meets old Ben Weatherstaff and his robin, and for the first time wants to make a friend. Martha's mother sends a skipping rope, and Mary's health and temper start to improve.

The key and the door

The robin leads Mary to a buried key, and a gust of wind reveals a door in the ivy. Inside, she finds a sleeping garden, and clears space for the shoots. She writes to Dickon for seeds and tools, shares the secret with him, and asks her uncle for a bit of earth. He agrees.

The crying in the night

On a stormy night Mary follows a sound of crying and finds her cousin Colin, who is kept in bed and believes he will grow a hump and die. Mary stands up to his tantrums, shows him his back is straight, and tells him about the moor and the garden. Dickon brings a lamb and the smell of spring into his room.

Colin in the garden

The children plan to take Colin out unseen. In the garden he cries that he will get well. When Ben calls him a poor cripple, Colin stands up. Ben reveals that he has kept the garden going in secret for Mrs. Craven. Colin walks, plants a rose and exercises with Mary and Dickon. Dickon's mother, Susan Sowerby, tells him the Magic is the same Joy some call God.

Mr. Craven comes home

Far away in the Alps, Archibald Craven feels a sudden peace and hears his wife's voice say that she is in the garden. A letter from Susan Sowerby calls him home. He walks to the gate, hears children laughing, and Colin runs straight into his arms. He sees his wife's gray eyes in a strong, healthy son, and father and son walk together into the manor.

Themes

Healing through nature: Fresh air, fresh earth and daily work change Mary and Colin in body and spirit. The garden is not a cure handed down by a doctor but something they do themselves.
Friendship across differences: A neglected girl, a boy kept in his bed, a moor boy and a gruff old gardener become a circle of friends. Each brings something the others need.
Grief and letting go: Archibald Craven locked up his wife's garden and shut out his own son. The story shows how love held in a locked room can only be healed by opening the door.
The power of belief: Colin is convinced he will die, until Mary shows him there is no lump. The children's belief in the Magic gives him the strength to stand up.

Questions about The Secret Garden

How does The Secret Garden end?: Archibald Craven returns from the Alps, hears children laughing in the garden, and is met by Colin running into his arms. He sees that his son is healthy and strong, and they walk into the manor together.
What is the relationship between Mary and Colin?: They are cousins who live in the same house without knowing it. They meet when Mary follows a sound of crying, and they become close friends who help each other.
Where and when is The Secret Garden set?: Misselthwaite Manor stands on the Yorkshire moors in England. The story begins in colonial India, where Mary's parents die of cholera, and in a time of coaches and wheeled invalid chairs.
Who is Dickon?: He is Martha's younger brother, a boy from the moor who can talk to animals. He helps Mary plant the garden and later helps Colin walk.
What is the Magic in The Secret Garden?: The children use it for the life and strength they feel in the garden. Susan Sowerby tells Colin some call it Magic and some call it God, but it is all the same Joy.