The Secret Garden Audiobook by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden is a great audiobook by Frances Hodgson Burnett first. Set in England, it is one of Burnett’s most popular novels and seen as a classic of English children’s audiobook.
One of the most delightful and enduring classics of children’s literature, The Secret Garden Audiobook Streaming Online has remained a firm favorite with children the world over ever since it made its first appearance.
Plot Summary
The plot centers round Mary Lennox, a young English girl who returns to England from India, having suffered the immense trauma by losing both her parents in a cholera epidemic. However, her memories of her parents are not pleasant, as they were a selfish, neglectful, and pleasure-seeking couple.
Mary is given to the care of her uncle Archibald Craven, whom she has never met. She travels to his home, Misselthwaite Manor located in the gloomy Yorkshire, a vast change from the sunny and warm climate she was used to. When she arrives, she is rude, stubborn, and given to stormy temper tantrums. However, her nature undergoes a gradual transformation when she learns of the tragedies that have befallen her strict and disciplinarian uncle whom she earlier feared and despised.
Once when he’s away from home, Mary discovers a charming walled garden that is always kept locked. The mystery deepens when she hears sounds of sobbing from somewhere within her uncle’s vast mansion. The kindly servants ignore her queries or pretend they haven’t heard, spiking Mary’s curiosity.
Audiobook Reviews
As a child, I read this book at least four or five times, along with Frances Hodgson Burnett’s other childhood stories about Sarah Crewe (Little Princess) and Cedric (Lord Fauntleroy).
The Secret Garden Audiobook free mp3 appeals to both young and old alike. It has wonderful elements of mystery, spirituality, charming characters, and an authentic rendering of childhood emotions and experiences. Commonsense, truth and kindness, compassion, and a belief in the essential goodness of human beings lie at the heart of this unforgettable story.
There is magic involved in coming-of-age stories where children strive to find the kind of life they are meant to live, against all odds, and I felt deeply satisfied each time I closed one of those books, knowing that the protagonists had (once again) made it through various challenges to living a better, more natural and fulfilled life.
As for the narrator, I love her. Her crisp accent and gentle affliction in her voice makes you feel as if you could be a small child listening to a parent or teacher read to you as you lie on the rug in front of her. Her accent also adds to the ambiance of the story, with wonderful use of dialects and those learning dialects.
It is the best known of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s works, though most of us have definitely heard of, if not read, her other novel Little Lord Fauntleroy. I would recommend this book to anyone, young or old, looking for a magical getaway.
Download and Listen free
Frances Hodgson Burnett – The Secret Garden is now available in audible format, almost 8 hrs long, the narration by Josephine Bailey, is so enticing that you get hooked instantly.