Secret Garden Hardcover - 1994

About this book

From the jacket flap

The Secret Garden, a real children's classic, has been cherished by generations of readers since its first appearance in 1911. In what is certainly the most beautiful full color edition of this acknowledged children's classic, Mary Lennox, a sullen, spoiled child, comes to live with her English uncle after her parents' deaths. Implanted in Misselthwaite Manor on the baleful moors of Yorkshire, she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dear gardener, a cheerful robin, and Master Colin, her willful, mysterious, sickly cousin. The robin helps Mary find the door to the secret garden, and from there the story takes the reader on a spellbinding journey into the places of the heart where faith restores health, where flowers refresh the spirit, and where the magic of a garden coming to life after years of neglect serves as a metaphor for the miraculous recovery of an invalid boy.

The characters and the story are as fresh today as they were when the book was first published. Graham Rust's illustrations, with their delicate period flavor and detail, bring to life the whole cast of characters and, of course, the secret garden itself "���" "the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place anyone could imagine."

First Edition Identification

The book was first published by Heinemann in London in 1911 with illustrations by Charles Heath Robinson as a British edition.  The first American edition was published by Fredrick A Stokes and Company with illustration by Maria Louise Kirk. 

The original British edition features green cloth with gilt titles & decoration to the upperboard and spine. This can be identified by a publication date on the front panel.

The First American released two editions simultaneously, one featuring the publisher’s green cloth with illustration only on the upper board and gilt lettering to the spine. The other in blue cloth without illustrations.