"The Secret Garden" is a novel for children written by American author Frances Hodgson Burnett and published in book form in 1911. The story is set in England and follows the life of Mary Lennox, a spoiled and sickly young girl who is sent to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor after her parents die. While there, Mary hears about a secret garden from her maid, Martha Sowerby, and becomes intensely curious about it. She eventually finds the garden and begins working to bring it back to life with the help of a friendly robin and a young boy named Dickon. As Mary spends more time in the garden, she becomes kinder, more considerate, and outgoing, and her interaction with nature spurs a transformation. Later, Mary uncovers the source of strange sounds she has been hearing in the mansion: they are the cries of her supposedly sick and crippled cousin, Colin, who has been confined to the house and tended to by servants. The novel is an exaltation of nature and its effects on the human spirit, and the physical and spiritual healing that Mary and Colin experience in the garden is mirrored in the seasons. "The Secret Garden" is considered a classic of English childrens literature and has been adapted into several stage and film adaptations.