Great Maytham Hall December 2003 the Country Houses Association announced that it was closing down its residential business and selling the eight Grade I and II listed buildings it owned. The walled garden of Great Maytham Hall provided the inspiration for one of the most famous of all books for children, "The Secret Garden". Its author, Frances Hodgson Burnett, lived at Great Maytham Hall from 1898 to 1907, where she found the old walled garden dating from 1721 sadly overgrown and neglected. Aided by a robin, Burnett discovered the door hidden amongst the ivy, and began the restoration of the garden, which she
The Secret Speech (novel) The Secret Speech (novel) The Secret Speech is the second novel in a trilogy by British author Tom Rob Smith; it was released in April 2009. The book features a repeat appearance of Leo Stepanovich Demidov, the protagonist of Smith's first book, "Child 44" (2008). "The Secret Speech" is a further exploration of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin created. The third novel in the trilogy, "Agent 6", was published in 2011. The title refers to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 address admitting Stalin's crimes. The book continues to develop the theme begun in Smith's first work. Leo's nationalism evolves as