Jenna-Louise Coleman reads The Secret Garden (Famous Fiction)

By: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Narrated by: Jenna-Louise Coleman

Length: 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Jenna-Louise Coleman reads The Secret Garden, one of the best-loved stories of all time.

When newly orphaned Mary Lennox is sent to live at Misselthwaite Manor with her uncle, she is determined to be miserable. But she finds a lonely house which is full of mystery. There's her sad Uncle Archibald, her cousin, Colin, who believes he's dying, and then there's Dickon, a local boy. Together they discover a locked and secret garden and their great adventure begins.

As the garden slowly works its magic Mary, Colin, Dickon and even her uncle Archibald all begin to change. This is part of AudioGO's 'Famous Fiction' range.

Public Domain (P)2013 AudioGO Ltd

delightful

one of my all time favorites.we all need a secret garden even as we are adults

A Classic, Beautifully Told.

This is the classic tale, told in a manner that draws you in from the very beginning. The magic of children and their innocent and open minds and that garden magic. Excellent narrator.

Abridged Version Better for Young Readers

The unabridged version of this story contains content pertaining to entitlement, mistreatment of servants because of their race/ethnicity, and inferences that a person cannot be happy unless they are able-bodied or “pretty.” The unabridged story never addresses the correction of offensive prejudice or ableism, and a young reader could take away the wrong message.

This abridged version, while clearly portraying two of the main child protagonists as entitled and initially very badly behaved, does give them a character arc where you can see they are influenced by kindness and healthy behaviors, and even point out to each other than they are ill-mannered and acknowledge their own bad behavior, so that helps inform the reader that it’s not good to be a rude child or person.

The abridged story focuses on taking responsibility for yourself and your day-to-day actions. You see the characters go through much personal development while learning to get along, be self-sufficient, build healthy habits, and live happy lives despite sad circumstances.

My favorite takeaway from The Secret Garden was experiencing the joy the children felt by caring for the land and animals, as well as all the classes of people they share their lives with. That in doing so they learned the results to be great mental and physical reward, and being able to feel deeply satisfied with their lives. One of the lessons being that change can be scary, but also a blessing if you enter with an open mind and heart.

Not full length

To be honest, I got this because it was Jenna Coleman reading it, not because it was a full reading. It goes at a fast pace and I wished she had slowed down but for the price, it was well worth it.

Buyer Beware: Sadly it IS Abridged

Would you try another book from Frances Hodgson Burnett and/or Jenna-Louise Coleman?

This is a charming reading of The Secret Garden. Jenna-Louise Coleman reads very well and with good variety in her voice for the various characters. Sadly, the title reads "unabridged" when it is anything but. I surely wish that this had been the unabridged version of this beautiful classic because I could have easily enjoyed JLC's reading for the 4-5 hours that it would take. This 55 minute version feels rushed and too simplified. What a shame. What a shame.

Has Jenna-Louise Coleman reads The Secret Garden (Famous Fiction) turned you off from other books in this genre?

No - the reading and the classic are excellent. The obstacle was the misrepresentation of the version.

What about Jenna-Louise Coleman’s performance did you like?

Her voice is lovely, lively and engaging. It is easy to listen to and truly enjoy.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Jenna-Louise Coleman reads The Secret Garden (Famous Fiction)?

I would have cut nothing. I wish that there had been LESS cutting.

ABRIDGED

This is a very, very abridged version of the story, which is nor what I was looking for. Even if it was what I was looking for, the abridgment omits far, far too much.

I do not recommend this reading of this wonderful story.