The Secret Garden is an exceptional book by Frances Hodgson Burnett initially published in book form in 1911. Set in England, it's one of Burnett's more popular works and has been hailed as a classic of English kids' literature. Several stage and movie adaptations have already been made. Many readers will be familiar with the plot, which revolves around a secret garden kept by a widower for his three-year-old daughter. However, not many will know about the inspiration for the story.
Colin Burnet is a shy, retiring author who lives in a small English town. One day, he stumbles across a hidden garden that contains beautiful greenery, amazing flowers, and wonderful butterflies. While looking around, he finds that the place is known as "The Secret Garden". Initially keen to discover what the garden holds, Colin decides to test his luck by asking a fairy to tell him what secrets it holds.
After discovering a beautiful rose, Colin decides to introduce his new discovery to the only girl in the local school. The only daughter of the school, Annabel, goes on a quest to find the "treasure" that her friend called the "ilion." The only problem is that Colin's friends are locked away in the "ilion," and there is no way for him to get back to them. On their return, they find the "ilion" and Annabel get the information she needs. However, before she can give the information to Colin, he is kidnapped by Indian servants working for a rice-planting company. The only person who can rescue Colin is Mrs. Rice, who lives near the secret garden.
When the company's workers return from their holiday, they have no idea where Colin is. He managed to escape custody once, but returned six months later, claiming to be lost due to an accident. Since Mrs. Rice is the head of the household, and also a teacher, she is desperate to find her son. However, neither she nor any of the teachers can understand what Colin has been through. However, thanks to some newly arrived British nurses, they do eventually locate him in the secret garden.
Arriving in the garden, the group finds Colin tied to a tree, having been severely beaten and locked up for weeks. They let him free while they continue their search for the "ilion," but soon return to the secret garden. Finding a dead body trapped inside a painting, they deduce that the intruder was killed by the servant girls who locked him up. After Colin recovers, he tells his story to the other British children who were also taken to the British school, telling them about his experiences in India. Mrs. Rice realizes that her husband's servants were responsible for the death of her only son, so she plans to start an investigation of her own.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Rice discovers that there are several other mysterious deaths occurring in and around the secret garden. When she turns one of these leads into the police, they discover that the headstone at the grave of Colin's dead child has been smashed. An examination of the soil below the grave proves that it was not a gravestone at all, but actually a mass of sewage and garbage that fell from a nearby building. With this evidence, the police solve the mystery and solve Colin's crime.
Mrs. Rice also becomes aware of the growing cholera epidemic in and around her area. Because of the suspicious nature of the discovery of the bodies, however, the police are slow to make any arrests. In order to obtain any further evidence against the suspected suspects, Mrs. Rice contacts her former friend Alice Tremlett, who is now a private investigator. Alice is able to help the police solve the case, although she herself becomes the prime suspect in the case.
All of this is wrapped up in the final scene of the film, where it is revealed that the rotting remains of Colin's child have turned into a legendary symbol of all sorts of paranormal happenings. The evil spirit that haunts the garden is identified as the spawn of a powerful demon, and Alice is able to defeat it using the healing power of the Yellow King. Although she suffers a serious loss, she discovers her new ability to help others. The secret garden and its evil past are finally revealed, and Alice is able to move on with her life. Colin's story ends with a sense of closure, with a message that every one of us has the power to change the future, if we choose to take that chance.