News about Frances Hodgson Burnett

PATRICK MARMION: Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved children's story is subject to an audacious but charming cross-pollination project at Regent's Park. And where the glorious backdrop of the park itself sets the bar very high, director Anna Himali Howard's multicultural makeover doesn't disappoint. The story of spoilt Mary, orphaned in India and shipped out to the fictional Edwardian home of Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, remains pretty much intact. Now, though, Mary is mixed-race (having an Indian mother), and the secret garden she discovers in her new home is laid out along South Asian lines by her (late) Indian aunt.

I wish I could tell you what the first book I borrowed from a library was like, but there are so many over the years that I wouldn't know where to begin.

Soap boss Simon Constantine decided to teach about wildlife and sustainable horticulture at his historic Carey House. Despite neighbour's skepticism, planners have approved the plan. At the beauty spot near Wareham in Dorset, he requested a new timber storage space, a compostable toilet, and to flog refreshments and plants.

Simon Constantine, the tycoon, is planning to use Carey House to teach about plants and sustainable horticulture. A timber storage space, a compostable toilet, and the desire to flog refreshments and plants were among the designs submitted by Dorset Council. It comes just a year after the businessman, who created the cosmetics behemoth, discovered a mystery garden behind a locked gate at his historic home.

Staff at Queen Mary University of London have been sent a reading list to help them learn about equality, diversity, and integration. It includes classic school texts, including Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird (pictured) and Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden. The list also includes a 'content warning' from the human resource department's warning: "Some of the following books and resources may contain text and refer to controversial topics that may be triggering for some individuals.' If you're unhappy with something, please suspend your activity; it's important that you look after your own health.'