1956 First Illustrated Edition by Shepard - The Secret Garden by F.H. Burnett

An enchanting Shepard-illustrated edition of Burnett’s beloved classic, where the quiet magic of the garden is rendered with tenderness, light, and unmistakable charm.

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett. Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard.
Title: The Secret Garden.
Publisher: London, The Reprint Society, 1956. First edition illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8" x 5.5".
Pages: 250 pages.
Binding: Attractive original publisher’s green cloth binding with silver-stamped vignette of a rabbit beneath a tree on the front board and silver titles to the spine. The binding is near fine, clean and sound, with only light wear. The good original illustrated dust jacket is present, with edge wear, small chips, rubbing, light soiling, and wear to the spine and extremities, as shown. Presented in a removable protective mylar cover.
Content: Very good to near fine content. Pages are clean and bright overall, as shown.
Illustrations: Beautifully illustrated throughout by Ernest H. Shepard with numerous full-page and in-text black-and-white line drawings. Complete.

Estimate: (USD $175-$200).

The book: This is a lovely mid-century edition of The Secret Garden, one of the most beloved classics of children’s literature. Originally published in 1911, this 1956 Reprint Society edition is especially desirable as the first edition illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, whose delicate pen-and-ink drawings bring a gentle, intimate life to Mary, Dickon, Colin, and the hidden garden itself.

The author: Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924) was an Anglo-American novelist and playwright, best remembered for Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden. Her fiction often explores childhood resilience, emotional renewal, and the healing power of imagination and nature.

The illustrator: Ernest H. Shepard (1879–1976) is among the most cherished illustrators of English children’s literature, famous for his work on Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows. His drawings for The Secret Garden beautifully complement Burnett’s story, adding warmth, movement, and quiet humor to this enduring tale of restoration and growth.