⇒ Download The Locked Garden Gloria Whelan 9780060790943 Books

The Locked Garden Gloria Whelan 9780060790943 Books

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The Locked Garden Gloria Whelan 9780060790943 Books

Although apparently written for a much younger readership than myself, I none the less found the book enchanting. It's a tale of two young sisters being brought by their widowed father to live at the asylum where he works. The delight of the story stems from the girls attempts to not get underfoot, but failing miserably in their attempts--much to the chagrin of girl's erudite father and their stuffy overseer, Aunt Maude. The conflict seems to primarily stem from the girls emotional connection to a young female patient, named Eleanor, who comes to work in the household. Eleanor's life is made hard by the jealous and controlling Aunt Maude. And although Aunt Maude is cast in the role of antagonist, she has enough pathos to make most readers pity her. Much of the story's adventure stems from the two girl's precocious attempts at retaining the beloved Eleanor while deposing autocratic Aunt Maude. In summary, it was a fun read.


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The Locked Garden Gloria Whelan 9780060790943 Books Reviews

I researched the history of the mental hospital I worked in as librarian in the 1970s and 1980s. Ms. Whelan's account of such an "asylum" in 1900 seems to me authentic. This story was deeply satisfying. I read it in one sitting.
The year is 1900. Two years after the death of their mother, twelve-year-old Verna Martin and her six-year-old sister, Carlie, leave their home in the city. They are moving with their father, a psychiatrist, to an asylum in the countryside that is testing out new ideas for the treatment of the mentally ill. Their strict Aunt Maude, who has cared for them since their mother's death, accompanies them.

Much to Verna's surprise, the asylum is a lovely place, with trees, flowers, and animals. And the patients aren't scary at all. One patient is Eleanor, a young woman who, thanks to the care and peaceful setting of the asylum, has improved enough to work. She comes to work at their house, to cook, clean, and help care for the sisters. Verna and Carlie become very close to Eleanor, and this causes Aunt Maude to become very jealous, which results in terrible consequences for Eleanor's health, leaving Verna to try and fix the situation.

The Locked Garden is a very interesting historical novel for young readers about a topic not much explored in children's fiction - the beginnings of modern mental health treatment. This book is both an interesting look at the subject as well as a touching story about family and friendship. I recommend it to young readers who like historical fiction as well as those readers who have enjoyed other books by the author.
3.5 stars

This book was really interesting. I liked it a lot. It seemed like the majority of the people who didn't like this book didn't like it because the title was misleading; so, knowing that it was, I was able to enjoy the story a lot more. However, there were a few things that made it not quite 4 stars worthy. I'll get to those in a minute.

First off, what I enjoyed about the book Eleanor. Her backstory, her personality, her battle with depression, and her relationship with Aunt Maude. It was the best part about the whole story. She tried so hard for Aunt Maude to like her, and I thought that was really sweet. I could not STAND Aunt Maude; she was so mean! Now, back to Eleanor. What I really liked was how the author showed you her family and gave insight as to what made Eleanor finally break. It was so sad, but so good at the same time!

And, did I sense a teeny bit of romance between Verna's dad and Eleanor? Just a teensy weensy bit? I think so!

Sadly, it is time for the negatives now...
THE ENDING. What the heck? It just ended. It wasn't even a real ending. Maybe I'm just too used to happily ever afters, but this seemed like there was no resolution at all. None whatsoever.

Also, I really didn't like Verna as much as I would have liked to. It seems like Eleanor is really the character that you are supposed to get attached to, and Verna is just the means of telling the story. That may have just been me, but it was still a bit of a problem.

All in all, it was a really good story. It has a unique feel to it that I haven't read in very many Juvenile books. I liked this one a lot.
I live in Traverse City and I am familiar with area described by the author. It is an amazing place with fine dining, wonderful shops, bakeries, cheesecakes and soon to be botanical gardens. If you have never been to Traverse City make it a sure stop on your next vacation. One of the building which housed some of the patients will not be turned into Senior Living and the information about this housing is more than appealing, it will be more than you could expect.
Sis Leake
sisleake@charter.net
Although apparently written for a much younger readership than myself, I none the less found the book enchanting. It's a tale of two young sisters being brought by their widowed father to live at the asylum where he works. The delight of the story stems from the girls attempts to not get underfoot, but failing miserably in their attempts--much to the chagrin of girl's erudite father and their stuffy overseer, Aunt Maude. The conflict seems to primarily stem from the girls emotional connection to a young female patient, named Eleanor, who comes to work in the household. Eleanor's life is made hard by the jealous and controlling Aunt Maude. And although Aunt Maude is cast in the role of antagonist, she has enough pathos to make most readers pity her. Much of the story's adventure stems from the two girl's precocious attempts at retaining the beloved Eleanor while deposing autocratic Aunt Maude. In summary, it was a fun read.