Mandy

Ten-year-old Mandy feels lost among the thirty children who live in the old stone orphanage. She dreams of a home of her own, a place where she belongs. When Mandy climbs over the high orphanage wall to explore the outside, she is lucky enough to find a tiny deserted cottage hidden in the forest. With a few "borrowed" items, the cottage becomes a refuge. To guard her secret, Mandy even lies -- but when she falls terribly sick, no one knows where she is. No one, that is, except for a special admirer she didn't know she had.

This story, written by the famous actress and singer Julie Andrews Edwards, reminded me very much of The Secret Garden. Mandy is a young orphan who one day finds an old abandoned cottage over the orchard wall. The cottage has a beautiful room decorated in shells, and Mandy decides to fix up the place and tend the garden. It would be her very own, a secret place from the rest of the world.

Mandy sets about clearing the garden and cleaning the house. She resorts to stealing items from the orphanage to use at her cottage, like cutlery and garden shears. She does her best to avoid discovery; she wants the cottage to remain a secret. But one day she finds the cottage gate repaired and a note inside the house from someone who calls himself show more her admirer. Who could it be?

I read this book ages ago and have always remembered one scene very sharply, of Mandy falling senseless to the floor of her little cottage, the world spinning around her, and a storm raging outside. I loved the idea of finding a little cottage and keeping it a secret from the rest of the world.

There are definitely elements of Frances Hodgson Burnett's books in this story. Both Mandy and Mary Lennox are orphans who discover and adopt a secret garden. This garden fills a need in their lives. Second, there is a kindly person who sees the girl and leaves mysterious gifts. I am reminded of Sara Crewe in Burnett's A Little Princess, when she wakes up in her bleak attic room to find it had been transformed into a luxurious space — all done by some mysterious person who took an interest in her welfare. And there is the robin who lives in the garden in both Mandy's and Mary's gardens, and a crabbed old gardener who helps supply what is needed for the care of the plants.

And yet Mandy manages to be different enough from Burnett's works to justify its existence. The discovery of the garden, which is near the end of The Secret Garden, comes at the middle of this story, and then the plot moves in a different direction as Mandy recovers from the pneumonia that threatened her life. Mandy is not an ill-used heroine like Sara Crewe, and nor does tending the garden transform her as it does Mary Lennox. Mandy's thievery to help supply the needs of her cottage helps to prevent her from being a goody two-shoes.

Sometimes the dialogue was a little too perfect and the family relationships too warm. The writing could be rather simplistic at times, and the story isn't terribly inventive. But somehow I remembered it from all those years ago, and I enjoyed rereading. I prefer Burnett's stories, but I think Mandy is enjoyable in its own right. show less

Not sure how I missed this one as a youth, perhaps this was the stage when I was reading only books about sports. Regardless, this is a feel good story about an 10-year-old orphan names Mandy, who is treated well in her orphanage, and yet she yearns for something. Seeking adventure, Mandy climbs a stone wall behind the orphanage, where she discovers a charming little cottage, fallen into disrepair. She decides to make this her special place, and begins disappearing regularly, even from her best friend, Sue. She gets very sick, and cannot get back until her knight in shining armor appears at the behest of the orphanage matron.

Amazingly, this book was written by the Julie Andrews and the illustrations are a nice supplement.

I remembered this only vaguely from childhood, so it was good to re-read it. It certainly has a somewhat dated feel to it, but still enjoyable. The orphan Mandy longs for a place of her own and finds it: over the wall behind the orphanage, through the forest, she finds an abandoned cottage with a room entirely decorated in seashells. Mandy sets about making the place hers, evading her friend Sue and buying or "borrowing" items to clean the cottage and weed and plant the garden. When Mandy falls ill and heads to the cottage, only Sue knows where to find her, and the new owner of the estate, Bill, rescues her and brings her home. Mandy recuperates at Cranston Hall with Bill and Ann and their son Jonathan; she celebrates Christmas with show more them but then must return to the orphanage. Of course, unbeknownst to Mandy, this is only so that adoption papers can be put in order, and she gets to go live with the Fitzgeralds permanently. Then, having gotten her dearest wish, she asks if they can give the cottage to the other orphanage children, as a place of their own to come and play. Mandy has a quiet strength of character, adventurous independence, and a generous spirit. show less

While this review indicates a 2019 read date, I own a copy that I reread often.
Spoilers. This book brought me so much joy and wonder when I read it as a child. I took it into the rain with me, even, and was saddened to learn what water damage can do to a book. I was delighted, however, to learn that I could still read the water-warped words (unintentional alliteration! I feel so cool) perfectly once it dried, and the illustrations only seemed a bit washed out. The front cover came off at some point, too, but I kept reading the copy I had. I marveled at the glorious, lush descriptions of gardens, estates, and gardening and house chores. I regularly ignored Sue, Mandy's roommate at the orphanage, and Jonathan, the son of the couple that show more takes Mandy in. I thought so often reading this as a kid, that Matron just didn't understand Mandy and the cottage was perfect. I always worried about Mandy when she got sick, and the story ending always warmed my heart. I grew out of the book, as it were, when I was probably thirteen or so.

In recent months, I've wanted to read it, so I put in an order at a bookstore. As an adult, um...yeah. I was kind of conflicted about which star rating to give it, and finally settled on three. I'd say this takes place in 1800s rural England, but I was definitely wondering at parts "what adult would do that, even back then?" followed by, "um, maybe it was really different in the 1800s and that was normal." Maybe Dickenson-style orphanages were more common. (muses a bit) So. As an adult, I still delighted in the rich descriptions of the work of gardening and the pride that working hard to clean a dwelling can bring. I was filled with joy at each illustration, large or small. I looked for tiny details, even, and they were indeed there. But I also thought the adults favored Mandy to an unrealistic degree, that she was often rude to Sue, and that there were no real consequences for some serious things Mandy was doing. Hence my frequent thought "maybe things were different in the 1800s." Or maybe Mandy is indeed written unrealistically.

I don't understand why Jonathan was in the book--now that I write that, I realize it was probably solely to give Mandy a sibling. She had two doting parent figures quickly and unrealistically. Jonathan took the whole "we're taking care of a sick, strange, orphaned girl who broke into your dad's new cottage repeatedly to garden and deep clean" pretty well. On reread as adult, this is a clear adoption fantasy. It's so well-written that, had I not read the book's introduction, I'd have guessed the author was writing about herself. I need to stop guessing that. More likely, it's a Little Orphan Annie retelling, sugar-coated and with no dog. It's mentioned Mandy's a terrific singer, but not if she has red hair. Hm. And I'm not poking fun--my youth musical theater career started when I was eleven because I could sing. Here, though, I was kind of surprised Mandy wasn't more smug--it fits with her character. (shrugs)

This book had a profound effect on me as a reader, as a kid. I love descriptions in novels of houses and gardens, and this book is what began it. I write short stories as a hobby, and when someone lives in a nice house, I give the character a garden that will remind me positively of the one described and cared for in this book. If I were to read this again, and I'm still deciding, I'd read it for the descriptions and ignore the story I think. I'm glad I reread it now though. show less

I received this book as a gift when I was small (around 7 maybe?), and read the HECK out of it! The front cover is completely gone, and I doodled on the inside at some point. I'm not an orphan myself, but somehow this character really spoke to me, about wanting a secret place all of her own. Something she could be proud of, and take care of. I have wonderful gardens and stone-paved walkways in my mind, inspiration from Mandy!

I LOVED this book as a kid. And then, as often happens, I completely forgot about it until a few months ago when someone casually mentioned it on a podcast. So I tracked down a copy (this is when I learned that Julie Andrews wrote it, and I'm still recovering from the realization that Julie Andrews was even more steeply rooted in my childhood than I thought) and really enjoyed revisiting it. All I remembered about this book was all the gardening and keeping house at a secret cottage in the woods, which was my favorite part to revisit, too.