Recently on a very hot day in New York City, Linda & I discovered a landmark to a woman set in a water lily pond surrounded by concentric circles of beautiful gardens– a memorial fountain to Frances Hodgson Burnett, a playwright & author. The two figures in the sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh are characters–Mary & Dickon– from Burnett’s classic book “The Secret Garden.” The plaque reads: “Fountain group given to the children of the city in the name of Frances Hodgson Burnett 1849-1924.” Here’s a line from that book: “I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get hold of it and make it do things for us.” Here’s one from Burnett’s book “The Little Princess”: “Everything’s a story-You are a story-I am a story.”
top of page
bottom of page