While The Secret Garden is perhaps best known through its various screen adaptations, nothing can compare to reading the book itself--that is where the true magic lies. The audio version read by Glenda Jackson is particularly well done. Listeners will feel as though events are playing on the screen of their mind as subtle sound effects and atmospheric music plays quietly in the background. It is truly a cinematic experience for the ears.

I had read the physical book at least twice but I have to say the audio really brought out of the enchantment of the story (the only downside was wanting to stop and write down a quote--much easier done when reading a book).  The characters truly came alive under the narrator's excellent interpretation and voicing.  If you have only ever seen the movie, you must dive into the book itself.

Mary has been a pampered but largely unloved little girl who is truly the "garden" of importance (one may argue that her cousin and uncle are secret gardens as well). As readers see what happens when love and caring are planted in her heart, the results are pure magic. The supporting characters: Martha (her maid), Dickon (resident animal whisperer), Ben (the gruff gardener), and Colin (the spoiled heir) all make their impression on the wild heart being tamed. If you are a parent or grandparent, this is a must read--definitely a story to be savored together in either book or audio form. Beautiful lessons for life are waiting to be tilled and brought forth from this literary gem! 

Disclaimer: I received a digital audiobook of The Secret Garden from NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

A classic children’s story about a young orphaned girl who finds a secret garden at her uncle’s estate in early 1900s England.

Listening to this story was a delight. The narrator was so pleasant and the production was so well done. It reminded me of books on tape I used to listen to as a child. The story is sweet and charming and the characters memorable. This may have been an abridged version because I felt like the editing was top notch! That’s always my complaint with classic literature. Or maybe classic children’s literature is different. 

The story is maybe a little too sweet, predictable, and cliche. Maybe cliche is unfair because it was published in 1911 and I’m sure it wasn’t overdone or formulaic at the time. But that’s the feeling I had. Sorry to all the big Secret Garden fans!

So there’s this website called NetGalley that facilitates publishers and authors giving you free books (of the paper, electronic, and audible variety) in exchange for an honest review. When I saw The Secret garden pop up in the list of available books, I thought Why not? I’ve never read this story, never seen the movie. Just yesterday, I didn’t even know the broad strokes of the plot. Recording companies do this all the time: take a book that has entered the public domain (no need to compensate the author, you see) and produce an audio version.

I requested the audio book, got approved, downloaded it, and then saw that the running time was only three hours. That can’t be right, I thought, I’ve seen this book, this should be around eight hours long based on the book’s 375 pages.

That’s when I learned two very interesting things about the book I was provided with:

First, this is a remastered production that was originally released on vinyl way back in 1975. It was narrated by Glenda Jackson. Admittedly, I didn’t know who that was, and I haven’t seen either of the two films for which she won an Academy Award (Women in Love in 1970 and A Touch of Class in 1973). But her voice is stunning, and she manages to make all the characters sound distinct—and she pulls off a wonderful Yorkshire accent. If you told me the audio was recorded yesterday, I would have believed you. It is crisp and clear and even had light bits of music and sound effects. It’s really a great production.

Second thing I learned about the book was that it was abridged, which means “shortened for people who don’t have time to listen to a whole book.” I guess this was pretty fashionable back in the day, but I would never opt to take this road. I mean, it makes sense—this was on vinyl after all, and even in its shorter form, it still took up four full records. Just a bit of a bummer, but no big deal, and I can go back and read the full version later... and I probably will.

Even in this abridged format, The Secret garden was wonderful. Two neglected and unloved (albeit wealthy) children experience the joy of discovery in a garden that’d been locked away for years. Though their upbringing has turned them into spoiled, obnoxious children, the joy of simply being outside seems to infect their crass personalities almost immediately. As they spend more time outdoors, planting flowers and playing games, they find such a sincere and endearing happiness that, when Alfred Craven returned home and found them in the secret garden, I found myself unexpectedly in tears.

I’m torn on recommending this one, because it’s abridged, but honestly, I think whatever version of this you might you gain access to is worth your time. They don’t make them like this anymore.

The Secret Garden is a beloved children’s classic for a reason. It tells a wonderful story while respecting the intelligence of the children who read or listen to it.

The story of a little girl left bereft by the illness that swept through India has a resonance with what has happened to families because of Covid. How that little girl grows both emotionally and physically is beautifully rendered here by the estimable Glenda Jackson.

There is now a new movie of this title. However, I recommend listening to the full story with a child that you know. It will affect both of you.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

Classics and children’s stories seem to be the books that are the toughest to successfully adapt to audiobook format, but when I saw that The Secret Garden was being adapted, I felt it might be the type of story that could work in this format despite that. 

Happily, that turned out to be true.

Hodgson Burnett needs no further endorsement of her delightful classic tale, though I’m happy to praise it anyway for form’s sake here. 

It’s really the adaptation that’s of interest, and much like the print form, it did not disappoint. 

Glenda Jackson was beautiful casting choice as narrator for this book. Her reading of it is both comforting and  actively engaging, like curling up in bed with a good book on a cold day and then eagerly chasing it across the lawn in bare feet that evening. 

Jackson nails the cadence and feel of the story perfectly, mastering its sense of tone and easily differentiating between characters without resorting to the dreaded “doing voices.”

Beautifully done.

I got an audio file of this book and I just loved it. Its one of my favorite childhood classic and listening to it was another level experience. The narrator was too good, I  enjoyed it a lot. Thank you Harper audio for sharing this audio book with me.

I have always enjoyed reading The Secret Garden since I was a kid. I love the characters and plot of this children's classic. This was such a great audio book for the classic story. I love the narration and how their are little sound effects to go along with the story.. Its great for kids to imagine what is going on. I highly recommend this audio book for children and middle graders or even adults.

I admit that The Secret Garden is one of the books I loved in childhood.  It's been over 40 years since I first read The Secret Garden and I found the story magical then.  I am delighted to find that I was just as drawn into the story and to the characters so many years later. 

Dame Glenda Jackson makes the story come alive in a timeless way.  This audiobook version will delight listeners of all ages.  I enjoyed getting to know the characters and story again and can imagine just how engrossing the story would be for someone hearing it/reading The Secret Garden for the first time.  A true delight!

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”

What a cute book. I can see why it’s a classic. It talks about death, illnesses, war, surviving and growing all from a child’s point of view. It’s also full of very strong feelings. Feelings of abandonment, anger, fear, and hope. 

I really enjoyed the audiobook with all the character voices with different accents.

The story of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a classic and one of my childhood personal favorites, so when I saw there was a new audiobook available, I jumped on the opportunity to revisit this charming  story in a different format. At this point no one needs a review of the story itself, but I will say this book really holds up for me. My last read was close to 30 years ago and I enjoyed it just as much this time, if not more because as an adult I was able to pick up on some of the more subtle themes. The writing of this story is not dumbed down for age like so many middle grade novels can be today. 

What I'm really supposed to be reviewing here is the audiobook itself, which I mostly enjoyed. The narrator does an excellent job delivering characters that are easily identifiable by voice and her British accent both delivers the reader to the setting, but is easy for an American reader to understand. There were a few sections of the audiobook that I felt were a bit overproduced; the bird chirping and some of the music competed with the narrator's voice in places and somewhat pulled me out of the story. I am an audiobook listener that prefers a "less is more" approach to audiobooks, however, and I think children, especially would enjoy the additional sound effects. 

Overall, the story and narration combine to provide a nice listening experience and I would definitely recommend this audiobook for young listeners.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!! This book was unputdownable.

A truly wonderful adaptation that was enjoyable to listen to. For fans of this classic I highly recommend this book. I did have trouble getting this to download in the app . Thank you to the publisher. A enjoyable fun way to listen to this old classic.

This audiobook of a classic wonderful story was beautifully done. My children and I listened to it and loved it.

This is a fabulous audio edition of the Secret Garden. I loved the narrator and thought she did a fantastic job. The narrator did a great job adding a little touch of personality to each of the characters and it added a lot to the story. I love the story of the Secret Garden and it was lovely to listen to it told through audio.

I had never read this much-loved classic, so when I saw it available on audio I quickly requested it.  I really enjoyed it.....both the story and the narrator.  Such a sweet, endearing book!

I love The Secret Garden, and love revisiting classics to fall asleep at night. The narration of this audio book felt like listening to the narration of a classic film. I loved the feel of it however, I am not a fan of background music or audio effects in audio books, so that bothered me. It was also sometimes difficult to understand, the audio wasn't especially crisp. It sounded like it was recorded on dated equipment that permitted background noise (which is what gave it a classic film field...perhaps it was a rerelease of a classic recording). Overall good recording, not great, still love the story, always will.

**I received this audiobook from netgalley in exchange for a review** (The 2020 re-release of the 1910 Glenda Jackson version)


Wow, they really just don't make audiobooks like they used to! The production on this is fantastic. It has awesome little sound effects throughout the story. It is abridged, but I think this edition is *perfect* to introduce a young reader to this classic story.

I didn't realize the audiobook was an abridged version of the book, however I really enjoyed the narrator and the sound quality of the recording. Even though some bits were cut from the book I didn't feel like it was missing something drastically important and the story was conveyed well. Overall a great audiobook for younger kids who need a shorter audiobook to keep focus.

Was given a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. 

I am a child of the 80s I have fond memories of the old movie based on this novel. I really loved this story. The narrator was wonderful. The sound effects really brought the story to life. 

I'm going to dock it 1 star though because it was extremely hard to listen to the book through the netgalley app. I couldn't pause, couldn't rewind. Didn't have any sense of when a chapter would end or how long I had listened. I love that Netgalley offers audiobooks but they are really hard to get through.

Argo Classics has made me happy. They have created an audio version one of my childhood favorites, The Secret Garden. And even better it lived up to my expectations. The book is still magic. Glenda Jackson’s narration is perfect with her voice changes for the different characters, including the change in the imperialist voice of Colin as he, with the help of Mary and Dickon discover the magic of the garden. Its funny how after so many years, it’s the crow and not the robin, I remember as showing Mary the key to the garden. I loved the sound effects in the audio version including the robin’s song.