Alive with the power of nature and the transforming power of kindness and patience, 'The Secret Garden' is definitely an emotional read! It has a host of brilliant characters who all undergo huge change through the story: stubborn and unlikeable, Mary Lennox has been orphaned in India and is sent to her austere uncle's bleak manor house in the North of England. Colin, her cousin, is highly strung, rude, and difficult. Both are entranced by Dickon, a local boy, brother to Mary's longsuffering chambermaid, who has a wonderful bond with the animals of the moor and generously shares something of his wild magic with them. The story pulses with the uncontrollable life and goodness to be found in immersion in nature, in getting your hands dirty and your clothes a bit muddy. It was way ahead of its time in recognising the benfits for mental, and physical, health in spending time outside! A little bit pagan and crazy in places, it nonetheless remains a classic because it sees the triumph of kindness over anger, the healing nature of true friendship, and the mending of the relationship between a father and a son - all because a very prickly, grumpy, and altogether unlikely heroine came to the manor.