The Secret Garden (musical) on the adult characters to return the plot closer to the original book. A full recording of this version was released on CD by First Night Records in 2001. The Secret Garden (musical) The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's script and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon. It premiered on Broadway in 1991 and ran for 709 performances. The story is set in the early years of the 20th century. Mary Lennox, a young English girl born and raised in the
Frances Hodgson Burnett books displayed at the Chicago World Fair. Burnett returned to London in 1894; there she heard news that her younger son Vivian was ill, so she quickly went back to the United States. Vivian recovered from his illness, but missed his first term at Harvard University. Burnett stayed with him until he was well, then returned to London. At this time she began to worry about her finances: she was paying for Vivian's education; keeping a house in Washington D.C. (Swan had moved out of the house to his own apartment); and keeping a home in London. As she had