Camp Hain

002 The Secret Garden Summary - Chapters 1 to 5 - CC Challenge A Novel

• Tia Hain • Season 1 • Episode 2

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In this episode of Camp Hain, host Tia Hain introduces 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett, focusing on a summary of the first five chapters. Tia explains the context and characters, including the protagonist Mary Lennox's journey from India to England to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor. The narrative delves into Mary's initial experiences, meeting new characters like Martha and Ben Weatherstaff, and her growing curiosity about the mysterious locked garden. This summary is part of a series aimed at homeschoolers and participants in the Classical Conversations program, with subsequent episodes covering the remaining chapters of the novel.

Internet Grandpa - The Secret Garden
Chapter 1 - https://youtu.be/7Jf0SX-s0vs?si=uV0DOmW6CeTU55m2
Chapter 2 - https://youtu.be/RimWGCqXqQg?si=DhxDERgqaMleu8-3
Chapter 3 - https://youtu.be/XcUeI5LjKWQ?si=bOIeomVPLjut_Uy8
Chapter 4 - https://youtu.be/XqGPzQmWfgY?si=5SsUWGgowm5Yp2Jn
Chapter 5 - https://youtu.be/NpKiEcjcz0c?si=6C8ALEArU_J07Bwu

00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:29 Welcome to Camp Hain
01:10 Summary of The Secret Garden: Chapters 1-5
03:03 Chapter 1: There is No One Left
05:50 Chapter 2: Mistress Mary Quite Contrary
09:20 Chapter 3: Across the Moor
11:31 Chapter 4: Martha
16:24 Chapter 5: The Cry in the Corridor
18:42 Conclusion and Next Steps

002 The Secret Garden Summary - Chapters 1-5 - CC Challenge A Novel

[00:00:00] 

[00:00:00] Introduction and Overview

[00:00:00] Tia: Have you ever had a secret between you and a friend that was so special and wonderful that it was really hard not to tell the whole world? That is the dilemma of the main character in The Secret Garden. Her name is Mary Lennox.

[00:00:15] This is the Classical Conversations Challenge A novel we will be summarizing today, at least the first five chapters of it today. It's got 27 chapters, so we're going to do it in bits and pieces, chunks at a time. 

[00:00:29] Welcome to Camp Hain

[00:00:29] Tia: But first, welcome to Camp Hain, the adventures of a Catholic family that homeschools, public schools, online schools, and has one super obsessed with baseball kid.

[00:00:39] Currently, I, Tia Hain, am a Classical Conversations Challenge A Director, so a lot of this podcast channel is related to that for now, but I also post videos about math, mostly algebra since I tutor, and our life. We love our adventures, so come along for the ride. And click the subscribe button if you're a homeschooler thinking about [00:01:00] homeschooling, or even if the content just interests you.

[00:01:02] And if you are on YouTube, give this video a like to help with the algorithm there. I've said the obligatory things. Now let's move on into the content.

[00:01:10] Summary of The Secret Garden: Chapters 1-5

[00:01:10] Tia: All right, let's get into the book. So today's summary, like I said, it's the secret garden and it's going to be chapters one through five over the next few episodes. I will be doing the rest of the book. Like I said before, there are 27 chapters total. I'm doing about five at a time because it looks like five is a pretty good number and it'll take up enough time.

[00:01:31] Now, I'm not reading the book. So if you want someone to read the book, there is a YouTube channel called Internet Grandpa and I will put a link in the description and he actually reads The Secret Garden, the whole thing. So you can go ahead and go there if you just want to hear someone read the book.

[00:01:48] This is just a summary of the book and for people who are in classical conversations or are using the Lost Tools of Writing program for [00:02:00] writing. I am going to be doing at the end of this, at the end of the 27 chapters, I'm going to be going over some things that could be considered issues and Go over some ideas for an Annie chart I will get into more of a description of that later on in case you're interested, but basically lost tools of writing as a program used for persuasive writing and They start off by picking a couple of characters and some issues that they have and you create what's called an Annie chart Based on these issues and it's affirmative negative and interesting To give you some ideas of how you could support either for the issue or against the issue.

[00:02:41] And that helps you write your persuasive essay. And the things that you choose for that chart are going to be what your proofs are going to be for whichever side you choose. So that's just a quick summary of that. But just letting you know, if you are in Classical Conversations and you are looking for ideas for that, I will be doing that at the end [00:03:00] of the summary.

[00:03:02] Okay, on to the book. 

[00:03:03] Chapter 1: There is No One Left

[00:03:03] Tia: Chapter one, there is no one left. In chapter one is where we get introduced to our protagonist, Mary Lennox, L E N N O X. And the book mentions right away about how she is going to live with her uncle. Her uncle lives at Misselthwaite Manor. Then it jumps to the past to get a quick background on Mary's situation.

[00:03:27] We find out later that the uncle is Mary's father's sister's husband, and The sister slash wife died 10 years ago. So where she's going the uncle his wife died 10 years ago we get a very quick description of Mary's parents her father works for the English government and He's always busy and always ill it mentions that and her mother is considered a great beauty and a socialite But she did not want a [00:04:00] child Now they are located in India And so it, the book makes it sound like the, their constitution doesn't agree with the Indian climate and Indian weather.

[00:04:15] So now we get a description of Mary. She's always ill. She's thin and sickly. She was born and raised in India, so she hasn't been anywhere else because it's where her father is stationed.

[00:04:27] And like I said in the book, it alludes to Mary's health situation being because she's in India. And this is going to be contrasted in the future chapters with the Moor, M O O R, where she is moving to, where Miss Lethwaite Manor is. It's on a place called a Moor. And then she's raised by Indian servants because her mother did not even want to see her.

[00:04:52] So she's only known Indian servants who do everything she wants. Mary is about nine. When [00:05:00] cholera goes through the whole household and Mary's basically forgotten about. People forget she's even there because it's only the Indian servants that know about her. And so when they start getting sick and then leave because they have cholera, nobody else knows about Mary, basically.

[00:05:19] And then we get some quick scenes to know about Mary's disagreeableness. And then, after everybody's gone. An officer finds Mary while he's checking on the house seeing like what's going on there because they know basically everybody's either died of cholera or it was left and Mary's the only one left so she was totally forgotten about but this is important to the rest of the story so don't forget it and she's used to no one there for her.

[00:05:47] She's used to not having anybody be there for her.

[00:05:50] Chapter 2: Mistress Mary Quite Contrary

[00:05:50] Tia: Now we move on to chapter two, Mistress Mary Quite Contrary. This is the in between time. So this is her traveling from [00:06:00] India to England. So she's on her way to England to live with her uncle, but there is a stop that she makes on the way there. And she's staying at an English clergyman's home.

[00:06:11] He has a wife and kids. And we learn more about Mary's character while she's there. She doesn't want to stay at the clergyman's home because she thinks it's shabby and poor and untidy and the children don't like her. In fact, they start singing, Mistress Mary, quite contrary. How does your garden grow?

[00:06:28] They start singing that to her to talk about how contrary she is and Mary absolutely hates it. Then she sails to England under the care of an officer's wife because she happens to be going there. To England with her own family. So she goes there and then she's very happy to hand her off to Mrs Medlock in London.

[00:06:51] So when they get to London Mary's handed off to Mrs. Medlock and Mrs. Medlock works for her uncle. So she's now in charge of getting Mary [00:07:00] from the boat to the miss Lethwaite manor. And then people keep commenting to her on how her mother was such a great beauty and how Mary is so plain. And then because she's never belonged to anyone, and that's in quotes, that's what the book uses.

[00:07:18] She didn't know that she was disagreeable. She thought, we're Everyone was she thought that how she is just how she's supposed to be so mrs Medlock comments that she looks spoiled and pettish

[00:07:32] Mrs. Medlock uses the word marred and in Yorkshire, that means spoiled and pettish. So throughout this book, a lot of people are going to be speaking Yorkshire, which is a very strongly accented type of English. So that will come up a lot as well. And they're basically going to Yorkshire. Now, Mrs.

[00:07:54] Medlock tells Mary about where she's going. She says it's a 600 year old house, and it's grand [00:08:00] in a gloomy way, and it's on the edge of a moor, M O O R. It has 100 rooms, but most are shut up and locked, and it's old furniture and paintings. There's a park around it with gardens and trees, but there's nothing else.

[00:08:14] And then Mrs. Medlock describes Mr. Craven. She says that he has a crooked back and he was married. He would do anything for her, the wife I mean. And people thought that she married him for money, but she didn't. Mrs. Medlock seems to like Mr. Craven a lot. He's, and she's very defensive of him. Mrs. Craven dying made Mr.

[00:08:43] Craven even stranger is what she says. He doesn't really treat Miss Lethwaite Manor as a home a lot. He's not home a lot and he doesn't treat it as his home anymore. But, when he is there, he shuts himself in the West Wing. Mary will probably not see him. [00:09:00] And, she also tells Mary that she's not going to have people to talk to.

[00:09:03] Because, it's basically a house with Mr. Craven and a bunch of servants and that's it. And then, while she's telling her this. By the way, this is all happening on the train as they're heading west. From London to Yorkshire where they're going to catch a carriage and Mary falls asleep while she's talking.

[00:09:20] Chapter 3: Across the Moor

[00:09:20] Tia: Now we're moving on to chapter three, which is across the moor. So Mary awakens. to eat a bit and then falls asleep again. And then Mrs. Medlock wakes her up when they get to Thwaite Station. So this is where Miss Thwaite comes from. And she tells her that it's going to be a long drive ahead. So they have to go on a carriage and it's going to be a long drive out to the manor.

[00:09:43] Now the novel keeps mentioning How Mary doesn't offer to help because she's used to being waited on. So this is something we're supposed to know about Mary at this point. And then the station manager speaks to Mrs. Medlock in a harsh accent, which Mary considers a [00:10:00] harsh accent, and that's in Yorkshire.

[00:10:02] And like I said, this is going to be coming up later on, so remember that. And then they get into the carriage and Mary notices that it is rather nice in the carriage. Now they're heading out on their way to the manor through the moor. It's five miles away, she says, about ten minutes drive. It's dark when they get there, but she can see some things out the window.

[00:10:24] And from what she can see out the window, it's just miles and miles of wild land that nothing grows on. And I think that's exactly what Mrs. Medlock tells her, it's miles and miles of wild land that nothing grows on. And then after going through the park gates, so they get all the way there, they go through the park gates, they still have two more miles to the manor.

[00:10:44] That lets you know that it's a very expansive park that the manor is in the middle of. Now when they get to the manor, it's low built and long and Mr. Pritcher opens the door. So he tells Mrs. Medlock that he, Mr. [00:11:00] Craven, doesn't want to see her, Mary. So after leading Mary through the corridor after corridor to get to her room, that's where Mrs.

[00:11:07] Medlock takes her to her room, this and the next room is where she's gonna live and then Mrs. Medlock says, don't you forget that. Now, Mr. Pritcher, we'll find out later, is The servant directly to Mr. Craven. So when Mr. Craven leaves, he always takes Mr. Pritcher with him.

[00:11:23] Sorry, I just looked at my notes again. It's not Mr. Pritcher, it's Mr. Pitcher, P I T C H E R, for future reference. 

[00:11:31] Chapter 4: Martha

[00:11:31] Okay, now we move on to chapter four, which is titled Martha, and this is where we get introduced to Martha. When Mary wakes up the next morning, Martha is cleaning the fireplace in Mary's room, and Martha is a very happy person.

[00:11:45] Mary looks out the window and sees the moor, and she doesn't like it. Mary's not used to how Martha is talking to her. Martha is talking to her in a very familiar way and Mary thinks of slapping her Aya in the face and thinks [00:12:00] Martha would slap back.

[00:12:01] So basically Mary's thinking about how she wants to slap her because she used to slap her own Aya in the face, one of her servants from India. And she realizes if she did that with Martha, she would probably slap back. So she doesn't do it. Now Martha is too common for the other houses, but can work here.

[00:12:20] Martha, we find out later, is from Yorkshire and she lives about five miles down the road and she's a little too friendly and common for, to be a regular servant in such a grand household or in other households, but because Mr. Craven has gone so much, she can actually do that work there because she's not really bothering anybody with how familiar she is.

[00:12:43] Now, Mary asked her if she is her servant, and she's like, nope, she is Mrs. Medlock's servant, and Mrs. Medlock is Mr. Craven's servant. So she'll wait on Mary a bit, but that's all. So Mary doesn't have a servant here, and she's really used to having them. [00:13:00] And Mary wants to know who will dress her, and Martha's like, you can dress yourself.

[00:13:06] So Mary is rude, but Martha doesn't even seem to notice. She's very happy and bubbly and talks a lot. So Martha thought, excuse me, Martha thought that she was going to be a native Indian. So there's a little bit of a discussion about that, how she, and I'm gonna, I'm putting air quotes up here. She thought she was going to be a black.

[00:13:24] That's in quotes. Mary is very insulted by this and she calls Martha the daughter of a pig. Now Martha tells her not to be vexed, and that's Yorkshire, and stares at her as Mary just rages on. And Mary's confused by the staring and throws herself on the bed sobbing. Basically, Mary's trying to insult Martha and Martha's like, I don't get it.

[00:13:47] But, because this is like a big insult to anybody in India. Any of the servants that they had in India, this is an insult. Martha's like, I don't understand what you're doing. And then, Martha actually feels sorry for Mary. She tries to [00:14:00] console her. And she's speaking in Yorkshire the whole time.

[00:14:04] And the Yorkshire speech actually helps calm Mary. She's not used to it and she likes it. It's has a sing songy effect to it. So Martha has clothes set out for Mary. And they're not black. So one of the things that I brought up earlier in the book is that Mary is dressed in black the whole time.

[00:14:23] And Mr. Craven wanted her to have new not black clothes. And Mary actually is very grateful for this because she hates black. And then she had to wear black the whole time. Now, because Martha isn't trained or she isn't a trained ladies maid, she doesn't know to do all the things. So she treats Mary more like one of her siblings.

[00:14:45] She's got, I believe, 11 siblings but she just treats like Mary, like she's one of her siblings and Martha is a talker. So eventually Mary just starts to listen to her talk. So she learns about Martha's family and her brother, Dickon, who is 12 years [00:15:00] old. Mary doesn't have anything to do. So Mr. Craven didn't think of anything for her to do in her room.

[00:15:06] So she needs to either go outside, out on the moor, or stay inside. But she doesn't have anything to do in her rooms. And Mrs. Medlock didn't get her anything to do. So she decides to go out because she doesn't have anything to do when she's inside. Martha says she can go out and about in the gardens, but nothing is blooming right now, and one of the gardens is locked up.

[00:15:26] Mr. Craven locked it and buried the key when his wife died ten years ago.

[00:15:31] Okay, so now Mary goes outside and when she's wandering around, she finds one of the kitchen gardens and an old man digging, whom we find out later is named Ben Weatherstaff. She wanders some more and finds doors that leads to other gardens. Then she sees a garden beyond a wall, but no door. She can't find the door.

[00:15:50] She comes across a robin singing to her, like the bird, a robin. And then she goes back to Ben and he calls the [00:16:00] robin. And then Mary and Ben talk for a little bit. And Ben talks plain about Mary and her sourness, so she's not used to hearing people talk about her this way. Then she talks to the bird kindly and asks him to be her friend.

[00:16:15] The robin flies over the wall into the secret garden with no door. She asks Ben about how to get into it, and he just walks away. 

[00:16:24] Chapter 5: The Cry in the Corridor

[00:16:24] Now we're at chapter five, and the name of that one is The Cry in the Corridor. And after spending a few days outside, she woke one day to feel hungry, and this is new to her.

[00:16:34] She is not used to feeling hungry. So she ate her breakfast and talked with Martha a bit about not playing since she didn't have anything to play with. So she goes out, but she can't really play because she doesn't have anything to play with. And then she goes outside again. So as she's wandering, she gets curious about a spot on the wall going around the garden with no door.

[00:16:58] There's ivy [00:17:00] that's not as trimmed as it is on the rest of the wall. And then the robin shows up. Mary stayed outdoors all day and came in for supper. It was very windy outside and it made lots of noise and it made Martha stay and talk with her. Then she asked, Mary asked Martha about the garden and why did Mr.

[00:17:21] Craven hate it? Mrs. Medlock says that they aren't supposed to talk about it, but, so this is what Martha says, she's like, Mrs. Medlock says they're not supposed to talk about it, but here's the story. It was Mr. Craven, excuse me, it was Mrs. Craven's garden. Mr. and Mrs. Craven were the only ones that went in.

[00:17:40] And they tended it themselves. They didn't let any gardeners in there. They just want to tend it, wanted to tend it themselves. And then one time Mrs. Craven was sitting on this branch that was bent down, almost like it was basically a seat that you could sit on. And then the branch broke and then she fell and died the next day.

[00:17:59] So [00:18:00] that's the story that's going around about it. And then for the first time ever, Mary actually felt sorry for someone. Then Mary thought she heard someone crying so she's talking about she thought she heard someone crying and then Martha said no It's just the wind you don't hear anything and then a wind came Down the corridor and blew Mary's door wide open and then she could hear the crying more distinct So Martha ran to shut Mary's door And they heard a door slam shut further away, and then the crying sound was gone.

[00:18:30] And then Martha denied that there was any crying. She said it was a maid who had a toothache downstairs, that's what she was hearing. And Mary just knew she was totally lying. So that is the end of chapter five. 

[00:18:42] Conclusion and Next Steps

[00:18:42] So that's chapters one through five of the secret garden. And if you like this episode, go ahead and give it a thumbs up, let the algorithm work, and then I can make more.

[00:18:50] But until next time, so we'll do chapters 6 through 10 for the next episode. And then the episode after that will be 11 through 15, and then 16 through 20, and [00:19:00] then 21 through 25. And then we'll do 26 and 27, and that will also have the issues and anti chart that I was talking about earlier.

[00:19:08] So I hope you enjoyed this episode, and we will see you next time for the next part of The Secret Garden.

[00:19:16]