The Secret Garden is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialization in The American Magazine (November 1910 – August 1911).  When Mary Lennox, the unloved, contrary and spoiled ten-year-old, is found alone in the deserted house after her parents' death, she is sent to live with an uncle whom she has never known. In Yorkshire, England, at his secluded Misselthwaite Manor, Martha Sowerby, a warm-hearted chambermaid, introduces Mary to the late Mrs. Craven and her private walled garden, which has been locked for years. As Mary becomes curious to explore this secret garden, will she be able to find the key? Published more than a hundred years ago, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a prominent children's classic. It is regarded as one of the best works of the twentieth century children's literature.