"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."--
Keri Wilt, motivational speaker and 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 "
Unearthing the Secret Garden brings Burnett to life as someone the reader would happily meet, in or out of her various gardens, to sit in the shade with a cheerful robin nearby while talking of roses and flowers and life."
--Bellwood Gardens "Marta McDowell's gorgeous, deeply felt tribute to the timeless tale. Filled with photographs of the flowers, plants, and gardens that inspired Burnett."
--The Literary Ladies Guide "Marta McDowell comprehensively explores the esteemed author's life before her famous story and after it, and includes a guide to the book itself."
--Bas Bleu "McDowell will help us see how Burnett's gardens evolved and were influenced by her book before, during and after its publication."
--The Start Democrat
