About The Secret Garden
The story (no spoilers)
Spoiled, lonely Mary Lennox is sent from India to live in her uncle's huge, gloomy house in Yorkshire. She hears crying in the night and learns about a garden that has been locked for ten years.
Who it's for
Readers who want a short, gentle novel about friendship and change, with lots of nature and seasons vocabulary.
- Level
- CEFR A2–B1
- Length
- 3 parts · about 1,100 words
- Reading time
- about 10 minutes (~3 min per part)
- Author
- Frances Hodgson Burnett
If you liked this, read
- A Little Princess · A2–B1
- Anne of Green Gables · A2–B1
- The Wind in the Willows · A2
Looking for something easier or harder? See Easy English books by level (A1–B2).
Reading The Secret Garden in English: quick answers
- What English level is The Secret Garden on SeoJae Story?
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is retold in simplified English at CEFR A2–B1 (elementary to intermediate). It is split into 3 short parts, and every sentence has a Korean translation you can show or hide, so a learner at that level can follow the story without a dictionary.
- Is The Secret Garden hard to read in English?
- The original is written for native readers, with long sentences and older vocabulary, so most learners find it hard. This retelling keeps the story but uses simpler English at CEFR A2–B1 (elementary to intermediate), so if you read English at that level you can follow it, and the Korean translation is there for any line that stops you. If it feels too hard, start with an easier book one level down.
- How long does it take to read The Secret Garden in simple English?
- About 10 minutes of reading in total — roughly 3 minutes per part across 3 parts. Listening to the audio narration, reviewing the vocabulary and taking each part's comprehension check adds a little more.
- Is this the full, unabridged text of The Secret Garden?
- No. It is an abridged graded retelling written for English learners that follows the story of the original in 3 parts. Every part also lets you read the matching unabridged chapters from the original, split into short readings.
- Is The Secret Garden free to read here?
- Yes. All 3 parts are free to read online, with the Korean translation, audio narration, vocabulary flashcards and comprehension questions included.
- Is The Secret Garden in the public domain?
- Yes. Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden is in the public domain, and the original text is freely available from Project Gutenberg (eBook #113). SeoJae Story's simplified retelling and Korean translation are original text written for learners.