Unearthing The Secret Garden: The Plants and Places That Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett

“McDowell’s beautiful writing and research take us all on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of a blooming world that has only existed in our imaginations, until now.” —Keri Wilt, motivational speaker, writer, and great-great-granddaughter of Frances Hodgson Burnett

“McDowell’s blending of this abiding fiction with its author’s real life is safe and sure. New readers—young and old—will be propelled into a faraway enchanted world now magically reawakened more than a hundred years on.” —David Wheeler, editor, Hortus

“From walled and terraced flower beds can sprout beloved children’s fiction, as the historian Marta McDowell chronicles in Unearthing the Secret Garden.” —The New York Times   “Affectionate and informative, Unearthing the Secret Garden is not unlike a garden itself, with its smooth lawns of prose and striking shows of illustration and photography. As in Burnett’s enclosures at Maytham Hall, one is forever turning a corner—or, rather, a page—and coming across a fresh vista.” —The Wall Street Journal “With a sprightly tone, infectious enthusiasm, and a professor’s penchant for scholarly detail, McDowell brings keen insight and critical assessment to the life and works of this beloved author.” —Booklist “This book is for anyone who loves reading or gardening or exploring the history of places and lives entwined.” —Gardens Illustrated “Rich in details, lavish with illustrations, including many from the story’s various print versions, this book is a must-have for anyone whose first horticulture passions were triggered by hat gateway drug to gardening, otherwise known as The Secret Garden.” —The Washington Gardener “Blooming with photos, illustrations, and botanical paintings, McDowell’s gorgeous book opens an ivy-covered door to new information about one of the world’s most famous authors. —Angelica Shirley Carpenter, editor of In the Garden: Essays in Honor of Frances Hodgson Burnett “McDowell’s beautiful writing and research take us all on an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of a blooming world that has only existed in our imaginations, until now.