The Secret Garden

By: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Narrated by: Vanessa Maroney

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the story of Mary and her friends and a garden which had been locked away for 10 years.

Public Domain (P) Commuter's Library

Wonderful Classic

I really enjoyed this performance and the story is wonderful as always! it was easy to tell the characters apart and that makes the book an easy listen:}

Delightful

Eeh! I mun say th’ little book be a right s’prise. Aye, true capt.

I think the word “delightful” is overused, but it’s deserved in this case. I — and my three kids aged from five to nine-years-old — really, REALLY enjoyed The Secret Garden and every character in it.

Mistress Mary (in all her contrariness) and Master Colin (in all his despicable tantrumness) are somehow exactly what the other needed, and able to bring transformational healing and hope where no other could. Some elements (especially in the beginning) are a bit politically incorrect for 2014, but the heart of this story is pure.

This particular narration by Vanessa Maroney is incredible. There is a lot of Yorkshire dialect in this book, and choosing the right narrator is very important. Maroney does a great job bringing all the characters to life, and switching back-and-forth between the incredibly broad and common Martha and the uppity Mary.

I know this is not a film review, but I can’t help mention the 1993 film adaptation directed by Agnieszka Holland. It is almost as wonderful as the book. Apart from a few pointless-but-forgivable plot changes (and the total absence of my favourite character, Mrs. Sowerby) it’s delightful — that word again — to see the stunning secret garden come to life. And the incomparably gorgeous Yorkshire moor feels less like a locale and more like an important character.

Classic story, good narrator

This is such a wonderful story. I read The Secret Garden over and over as a girl, and still never tire of it. (The same is true of The Little Princess.) I love how real the two children at the heart of the story are, and how their growth as characters is so dramatic but also generally very believable.

Audible has several editions of the Secret Garden, so I listened to samples of all the readers and ended up choosing this one. I'm glad -- the narrator does a very nice job of conveying the spirit of the characters without letting her own interpretation get in the way of the story as written. My only complaint is the same as the previous reviewer's; the editing of this audiobook left no space whatsoever between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next, and so each time a new chapter begins, it is quite jarring.

Great read with the kids if you like literature

What made the experience of listening to The Secret Garden the most enjoyable?

This classic story is an interesting read, and is well narrated.

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator takes on the characters well, and brings the story to life.

Any additional comments?

Our children enjoy an engaging story, so loved listening to this.

Thou munn enjoy this story

Even though this is a classic, I had never read it. I can see why this story has been loved by so many. None of the characters are particularly likeable, accept Dicken, who seems to have taken possession of everyone's nice qualities. But, through the process of playing and just being kids, they discover how to bring the best out of each other, and consequently, themselves.

My 7 year old daughter and I really enjoyed listening to this story together. Now, we both break into " Broad Yorkshire" from time to time. There were moments in the story that the Yorkshire made it difficult to understand what was being said, but we would go back and listen to it again. I really enjoy deciphering accents anyway. This story was very well read, and the accents made the story that much more enjoyable.

On the flip side, Colin's diatribes on magic got old and tiresome. There were whole sections that I wanted to fast forward through. I felt like the author's point about magic, God, positive thinking...whatever, could have been made a little more quickly.

Another up side from listening to this story is that my daughter has found her jump rope and has been practicing all the time! You have to love a book that makes kids want to get out and play!

Delightful

An absolutely beautifully read classic. Even with it's quirkiness and older story telling technique, it is a hard one to stop listening too.

Best version to me

It's my considered opinion that this is one of the best books in the English language. I chose this version because I liked the sound of the narrator 's voice.

Excellent re-read

There is so much more to this book than I got out of it as a child. The only reason I didn't give it a full five stars was the disconcerting way in which new chapters were introduced - with absolutely no pause between the last word of the previous chapter and the announcement of the next. This may have been a problem created when editing the sound track since it seemed inconsistent with the rest of the reading. All in all I did enjoy listening.

Great experience

Such an enjoyable book! I really enjoyed listening to it read. Great job bringing it to life. Almost any age should like it.

A favorite classic in children's literature

I really enjoyed the performance especially since she is British. The accent really brings the book to life for me.

My one problem with this particular audio book is due to an editing issue. At the end of each chapter there is absolutely no pause at the end of the sentence before she announces the next chapter. As a teacher and librarian, I am a bit appalled at this. A good reader pauses for effect and to end a chapter. Children need a small space to absorb what they have been listening to before starting a new chapter. This reader is a good reader and I am sure she would pause at the end of the chapters since she uses the pause for effect in her reading.
An example of the editing problem is at the end of this sentence chapter two. That is exactly what this book is like. It drives me a bit nuts.