198 The Secret Garden

First  watched :  1  January  1975

This  was  another  big  favourite  of  my  sister's  and  also  it  turned  out  my  wife  and  a  previous  girlfriend. It  ran  for  seven  weeks  on  a  Wednesday  teatime.

This  was  one  of  many  adaptations  ( there  had  been  two  previous  serialisations  by  the  BBC )  of  Frances  Hodgson  Burnett's  novel  about  a  petulant   orphan  girl  Mary   and  her  invalid  cousin  Colin  whose  lives  are  improved  when  she  discovers  the  key  to  a  walled  garden  kept  out  of  bounds   since  the  death  of  Colin's  mother. Mary  also  transforms  through  listening  to  the  common  sense  and  homespun  wisdom  of  the  working  class  servants.  This  adaptation  was  noted  for  its  faithfulness   to  the  novel.

It  seems  very  quaint  now  but  the  adaptations  have  kept  coming  so  who  am  I to  say  ?

None  of  the  three  child  actors   involved  went  on  to  adult  fame.