The Secret Garden

8 ways to start a deeper conversation.

Contains spoilers for the entire book.

Discussion topics

Topic 01 of 08

How did you feel about Mary at the start of the book, and why is she so disagreeable?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.

How did you feel about Mary at the start of the book, and why is she so disagreeable?
Keep the conversation going
- What has her childhood in India done to her?
- When did you first like her?
What does the huge, closed-up house on the moor say about Mr Craven's grief?
Keep the conversation going
- Why are so many rooms locked?
- What did you make of the cries Mary hears at night?
How do the robin and the moor begin to change Mary?
Keep the conversation going
- What did Martha and her stories of her family give Mary?
- Why is the robin so important to finding the garden?
What makes Dickon so special to Mary and Colin?
Keep the conversation going
- What does his way with animals say about him?
- What does Mrs Sowerby add to the story?
Why has Colin come to believe he will die?
Keep the conversation going
- What did you make of Mary's tantrum at his tantrum?
- Who has done him the most harm?
What is the 'Magic' that Colin believes in?
Keep the conversation going
- Is it faith, nature, or simply growing up?
- How does working in the garden heal the children?
What did you make of Ben Weatherstaff and his secret visits to the garden?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does Colin stand up for the first time when he sees Ben?
- Who kept the garden alive all those years?
How did you feel when Mr Craven returned and found Colin in the garden?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does the story end with father and son?
- Whose story is this, in the end, Mary's or Colin's?

There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.