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Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 85 years after they were conceived.
Soothing and mellifluous, native Briton Bailey's voice proves an excellent instrument for polishing up a new edition of Burnett's story. Bratty and spoiled Mary Lennox is orphaned when her parents fall victim to a cholera outbreak in India. As a result, Mary becomes the ward of an uncle in England she has never met. As she hesitantly tries to carve a new life for herself at imposing and secluded Misselthwaite Manor, Mary befriends a high-spirited boy named Dickon and investigates a secret garden on the Manor grounds. She also discovers a sickly young cousin, Colin, who has been shut away in a hidden Manor room. Together Mary and Dickon help Colin blossom, and in the process Mary finds her identity and melts the heart of her emotionally distant uncle. Bailey makes fluid transitions between the voices and accents of various characters, from terse Mrs. Medlock and surly groundskeeper Ben to chipper housemaid Martha. And most enjoyably, she gives Mary a believably childlike voice. A brief biography of the author is included in an introduction. 内容简介
Few children's classics can match the charm and originality of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the unforgettable story of sullen, sulky Mary Lennox, "the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen." When a cholera epidemic leaves her as an orphan, Mary is sent to England to live with her reclusive uncle, Archibald Craven, at Misselthwaite Manor. Unloved and unloving, Mary wanders the desolate moors until one day she chances upon the door of a secret garden. What follows is one of the most beautiful tales of transformation in children's literature, as Mary her sickly and tyrannical cousin Colin and a peasant boy named Dickson secretly strive to make the garden bloom once more.
A unique blend of realism and magic, The Secret Garden remains a moving expression of every child's need to nurture and be nurtured—a story that has captured for all time the rare and enchanted world of childhood. 作者简介
Frances Hodgson Burnett was born in Manchester, England, on November 24 1849. After her father's death in 1853, Burnett's mother ran the family's iron foundry until the American Civil War caused the business to fail. Destitute, the Hodgsons moved to Tennessee in 1865 to stay with relatives in a log cabin. Frances lived there until 1873, when she married a doctor, Swan Burnett, whom she later divorced in 1898. She married Peter Townsend, an actor, in 1900.
From her teens Frances had written stories and tales to help her support the family and later claimed never to have written a manuscript that was not published. Her first widespread success came with That Lass o' Lowrie's in 1877, a tale of the Lancashire coal mines. But it was the publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy, in 1886, that brought the author fame and wealth and established Cedric as the model for a generations of young boys. Sara Crewe was published in 1888, and the rags-to-riches story was so successful that Burnett revised, expanded, and republished it in 1905 as A Little Princess. The beloved The Secret Garden appeared four years later to enormous critical and popular acclaim.
A prolific writer, Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote over 40 novels and plays and dozens of short stories during her lifetime. She died at Plandome, New York, on October 29 1924. 精彩书摘
Chapter One
There Is No One Left
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It was true, too. She had a little thin face and a little thin body, thin light hair and a sour expression. Her hair was yellow, and her face was yellow because she had been born in India and had always been ill in one way or another. Her father had held a position under the English Government and had always been busy and ill himself, and her mother had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people. She had not wanted a little girl at all, and when Mary was born she handed her over to the care of an Ayah, who was made to understand that if she wished to please the Mem Sahib she must keep the child out of sight as much as possible. So when she was a sickly, fretful, ugly little baby she was kept out of the way, and when she became a sickly, fretful, toddling thing she was kept out of the way also. She never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of her Ayah and the other native servants, and as they always obeyed her and gave her her own way in everything, because the Mem Sahib would be angry if she was disturbed by her crying, by the time she was six years old she was as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived. The young English governess who came to teach her to read and write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months, and when other governesses came to try to fill it they always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she would never have learned her letters at all.
One frightfully hot morning, when she was about nine years old, she awakened feeling very cross, and she became crosser still when she saw that the servant who stood by her bedside was not her Ayah.
"Why did you come?" she said to the strange woman. "I will not let you stay. Send my Ayah to me."
The woman looked frightened, but she only stammered that the Ayah could not come and when Mary threw herself into a passion and beat and kicked her, she looked only more frightened and repeated that it was not possible for the Ayah to come to Missie Sahib.
There was something mysterious in the air that morning. Nothing was done in its regular order and several of the native servants seemed missing, while those whom Mary saw slunk or hurried about with ashy and scared faces. But no one would tell her anything and her Ayah did not come. She was actually left alone as the morning went on, and at last she wandered out into the garden and began to play by herself under a tree near the veranda. She pretended that she was making a flower-bed, and she stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth, all the time growing more and more angry and muttering to herself the things she would say and the names she would call Saidie when she returned.
"Pig! Pig! Daughter of Pigs!" she said, because to call a native a pig is the worst insult of all.
She was grinding her teeth and saying this over and over again when she heard her mother come out on the veranda with some one. She was with a fair young man and they stood talking together in low strange voices. Mary knew the fair young man who looked like a boy. She had heard that he was a very young officer who had just come from England. The child stared at him, but she stared most at her mother. She always did this when she had a chance to see her, because the Mem Sahib—Mary used to call her that oftener than anything else—was such a tall, slim, pretty person and wore such lovely clothes. Her hair was like curly silk and she had a delicate little nose which seemed to be disdaining things, and she had large laughing eyes. All her clothes were thin and floating, and Mary said they were "full of lace." They looked fuller of lace than ever this morning, but her eyes were not laughing at all. They were large and scared and lifted imploringly to the fair boy officer's face.
"Is it so very bad? Oh, is it?" Mary heard her say.
"Awfully," the young man answered in a trembling voice. "Awfully, Mrs. Lennox. You ought to have gone to the hills two weeks ago."
The Mem Sahib wrung her hands.
"Oh, I know I ought!" she cried. "I only stayed to go to that silly dinner party. What a fool I was!"
At that very moment such a loud sound of wailing broke out from the servants' quarters that she clutched the young man's arm, and Mary stood shivering from head to foot. The wailing grew wilder and wilder.
"What is it? What is it?" Mrs. Lennox gasped.
"Some one has died," answered the boy officer. "You did not say it had broken out among your servants."
"I did not know!" the Mem Sahib cried. "Come with me! Come with me!" and she turned and ran into the house.
After that appalling things happened, and the mysteriousness of the morning was explained to Mary. The cholera had broken out in its most fatal form and people were dying like flies. The Ayah had been taken ill in the night, and it was because she had just died that the servants had wailed in the huts. Before the next day three other servants were dead and others had run away in terror. There was panic on every side, and dying people in all the bungalows.
During the confusion and bewilderment of the second day Mary hid herself in the nursery and was forgotten by every one. Nobody thought of her, nobody wanted her, and strange things happened of which she knew nothing. Mary alternately cried and slept through the hours. She only knew that people were ill and that she heard mysterious and frightening sounds. Once she crept into the dining-room and found it empty, though a partly finished meal was on the table and chairs and plates looked as if they had been hastily pushed back when the diners rose suddenly for some reason. The child ate some fruit and biscuits, and being thirsty she drank a glass of wine which stood nearly filled. It was sweet, and she did not know how strong it was. Very soon it made her intensely drowsy, and she went back to her nursery and shut herself in again, frightened by cries she heard in the huts and by the hurrying sound of feet. The wine made her so sleepy that she could scarcely keep her eyes open and she lay down on her bed and knew nothing more for a long time.
Many things happened during the hours in which she slept so heavily, but she was not disturbed by the wails and the sound of things being carried in and out of the bungalow.
When she awakened she lay and stared at the wall. The house was perfectly still. She had never known it to be so silent before. She heard neither voices nor footsteps, and wondered if everybody had got well of the cholera and all the trouble was over. She wondered also who would take care of her now her Ayah was dead. There would be a new Ayah, and perhaps she would know some new stories. Mary had been rather tired of the old ones. She did not cry because her nurse had died. She was not an affectionate child and had never cared much for any one. The noise and hurrying about and wailing over the cholera had frightened her, and she had been angry because no one seemed to remember that she was alive. Every one was too panic-stricken to think of a little girl no one was fond of. When people had the cholera it seemed that they remembered nothing but themselves. But if every one had got well again, surely some one would remember and come to look for her.
But no one came, and as she lay waiting the house seemed to grow more and more silent. She heard something rustling on the matting and when she looked down she saw a little snake gliding along and watching her with eyes like jewels. She was not frightened, because he was a harmless little thing who would not hurt her and he seemed in a hurry to get out of the room. He slipped under the door as she watched him.
"How queer and quiet it is," she said. "It sounds as if there was no one in the bungalow but me and the snake."
Almost the next minute she heard footsteps in the compound, and then on the veranda. They were men's footsteps, and the men entered the bungalow and talked in low voices. No one went to meet or speak to them and they seemed to open doors and look into rooms.
"What desolation!" she heard one voice say. "That pretty, pretty woman! I suppose the child, too. I heard there was a child, though no one ever saw her."
Mary was standing in the middle of the nursery when they opened the door a few minutes later. She looked an ugly, cross little thing and was frowning because she was beginning to be hungry and feel disgracefully neglected. The first man who came in was a large officer she had once seen talking to her father. He looked tired and troubled, but when he saw her he was so startled that he almost jumped back.
"Barney!" he cried out. "There is a child here! A child alone! In a place like this! Mercy on us, who is she!"
"I am Mary Lennox," the little girl said, drawing herself up stiffly. She thought the man was very rude to call her father's bungalow "A place like this!" "I fell asleep when every one had the cholera and I have only just wakened up. Why does nobody come?"
"It is the child no one ever saw!" exclaimed the man, turning to his companions. "She has actually been forgotten!"
"Why was I forgotten?" Mary said, stamping her foot. "Why does nobody come?"
The young man whose name was Barney looked at her very sadly. Mary even thought she saw him wink his eyes as if to wink tears away.
"Poor little kid!" he said. "There is nobody left to come."
It w...
《失落的编年史:阿卡迪亚的低语》 一部关于记忆、失落与重生的宏大叙事 作者:艾丽斯·范恩(Alice Thorne) 译者:李明远 出版社:星辰出版社 --- 第一部分:暮色之城与破碎的誓言 故事始于阿卡迪亚,一个坐落在“永恒之雾”边缘的古老城市。阿卡迪亚并非一座凡俗之城,它的建筑由一种会吸收和反射星光的奇异矿石砌成,居民世代守护着一个核心秘密——一座被称为“时间之轮”的巨大机械装置,它被认为能够稳定现实与虚妄之间的界限。 主人公,伊莱亚斯·凡(Elias Vane),是阿卡迪亚最受尊敬的“记忆编织者”家族的最后血脉。记忆编织者拥有罕见的天赋,能够进入他人的梦境深处,修复被遗忘的片段,甚至重新编织创伤的记忆。然而,伊莱亚斯的生活在十年前被一场突如其来的“静默风暴”彻底颠覆。 静默风暴并非寻常的天气现象,它是一次针对知识和情感的无声侵袭。在这场灾难中,阿卡迪亚的中心图书馆——汇集了文明数千年历史的“万卷殿”——被彻底摧毁,而伊莱亚斯的父母也随之消失,只留下一个谜团重重的罗盘和一张被烧焦的羊皮纸。 十年后,阿卡迪亚沉浸在一种病态的宁静之中。人们的记忆变得模糊而疏离,仿佛被一层透明的薄纱所笼罩。伊莱亚斯靠着微薄的记忆碎片和对真相的执着,在城市的底层艰难维生,他拒绝成为官方承认的“记忆修复师”,而是私下里接手那些被官方遗忘的、被社会边缘化的“破碎记忆”。 他接待的第一个重要人物是年迈的瑟琳娜,一位曾是皇家历史学家的老妇人。瑟琳娜声称自己记得静默风暴发生前不久,一个身披星辰斗篷的神秘人曾拜访万卷殿,并带走了某种“核心代码”。瑟琳娜的记忆支离破碎,充满了矛盾的景象:她看到了闪烁的数字、低沉的吟唱,以及一面布满裂纹的镜子。 伊莱亚斯开始了他的编织工作。他发现,修复瑟琳娜的记忆比以往任何时候都要困难。他的意识进入了一个由破碎的逻辑构成的迷宫,记忆碎片如同漂浮的冰山,稍有不慎就会将他永久困在别人的创伤之中。在迷宫深处,他找到了一段清晰的影像:神秘访客并非盗窃者,而更像是一个执行某种古老仪式的信徒。这个人似乎在试图“解放”被时间之轮囚禁的某种存在。 第二部分:地下水道与被遗忘的真理 瑟琳娜的线索将伊莱亚斯引向了阿卡迪亚被遗忘的地下部分——“沉寂之网”。这是一个由古老的输水管道和废弃的矿道构成的复杂网络,据说那里居住着那些拒绝接受“官方历史”的异见者和被社会放逐的“回声者”。 在地下,伊莱亚斯遇到了卡西乌斯,一个精通机械和符号学的流浪者。卡西乌斯对于时间之轮的运作原理有着非同寻常的见解。他告诉伊莱亚斯,时间之轮并非是为了稳定现实,而是为了“过滤”现实。它抽取了所有过于强烈、过于真实,或者说过于危险的记忆和情感,将它们储存在一个秘密的“维度容器”中,从而维持了阿卡迪亚表面的和平。 卡西乌斯展示给伊莱亚斯一个他亲手修复的古老投影仪。当投影仪启动时,它投射出的影像并非历史记录,而是情感的残余——一种强烈的、原始的、未经修饰的悲伤和狂喜的混合体,正是阿卡迪亚居民们努力遗忘的东西。 伊莱亚斯意识到,静默风暴的真相远比一场简单的灾难要复杂。它可能是一次有计划的“记忆回收”,而他的父母,正是那次回收行动的目击者或执行者。他开始质疑自己所接受的一切“事实”。 在深入地下隧道的过程中,他们发现了一个被封锁的密室。密室中央,并非神圣的祭坛,而是一个巨大的、由黑曜石和未命名金属构成的“接收器”。接收器的表面刻满了与他父母遗物罗盘上相似的符号。当伊莱亚斯触碰接收器时,他经历了一次强烈的“反向回溯”——他不仅看到了父母的记忆,还看到了阿卡迪亚建立之初的景象。 第三部分:双重时间与悖论的种子 通过反向回溯,伊莱亚斯揭示了阿卡迪亚历史中最大的悖论:这座城市并非诞生于和平的渴望,而是诞生于一场失败的“维度干预”。早期的阿卡迪亚人曾试图完全控制时间流动,但失败了。时间之轮的真正作用是不断地自我修正,通过定期“清空”过于饱和的真实记忆来避免整个现实结构的崩溃。 他的父母,作为最高编织者,并非简单地失踪了。他们发现了一个不可逆转的错误:时间之轮正在加速磨损,它清除记忆的速度越来越快,如果不加以干预,整个城市将在短时间内陷入“虚无状态”,即所有存在都失去意义和联系。 他们留下罗盘,实际上是一个“时间锚”,意图在虚无降临时,将阿卡迪亚的“核心真理”备份并投射到另一个维度——那个由卡西乌斯投影仪中看到的、充满原始情感的“情感维度”。 那个在静默风暴前夕出现的神秘人,正是来自这个情感维度。他不是来盗窃,而是来警告。他带来了“未被过滤的现实”的碎片,试图唤醒伊莱亚斯。 伊莱亚斯必须做出选择:是维护阿卡迪亚虚假而稳定的现状,让居民们继续生活在被阉割的记忆中;还是遵循父母的遗愿,激活时间锚,用一场剧烈的、充满痛苦真相的“记忆洪流”来重塑他的世界,冒着让城市彻底瓦解的风险。 在最终的对决中,伊莱亚斯来到了时间之轮的控制室。他不再是那个迷茫的编织者,他是一个掌握了双重时间线真理的继承者。他没有选择完全摧毁之轮,也没有选择袖手旁观。他以自己的生命力为引,将父母留下的时间锚嵌入了轮轴的中心。 一股纯净的、未被过滤的记忆之光爆发出来。它没有毁灭阿卡迪亚,而是强行将那些被压抑的、被遗忘的爱、恐惧、狂喜和痛苦,以一种温和但不可抗拒的方式,重新注入到每个居民的心灵深处。 阿卡迪亚没有立刻恢复昔日的辉煌,而是陷入了短暂的混乱。人们开始哭泣、大笑、争吵,他们重新感受到了“真实”。伊莱亚斯在完成使命后,他的身体化为构成时间之轮的星光矿石,成为了新秩序的一部分。 尾声:余烬中的低语 数十年后,阿卡迪亚成为了一座充满活力,但也充满不确定性的城市。它不再是“完美”的,但它是“完整”的。艺术和哲学蓬勃发展,因为人们不再害怕体验完整的人性。 卡西乌斯,如今已是阿卡迪亚最受尊敬的学者,他时常会在城市广场的石板路上看到微弱的星光闪烁,那是伊莱亚斯留下的印记。他知道,真正的花园不在于被秘密保护起来,而在于敢于让所有生命在阳光和阴影下共同生长。那些被编织的谎言已经消散,而真正重要的故事,永远不会被时间所遗忘,它们只是在等待一个有勇气去倾听的人。 本书主题: 记忆的本质、集体遗忘的代价、真相与安逸之间的哲学抉择,以及个体如何在宏大的系统性谎言中,为重拾人性而奋斗。这是一部关于如何面对历史的创伤,以及如何用破碎的真相来构建更强大未来的史诗。