Good evening and welcome to the sleepy book shelf.

This season we are excited to be reading The Secret Garden

by British American author Francis Hodgson Burnett.

We know our listeners are as unique as our novels and lucky for you our bookshelf is varied with lots of different types of stories

to lull you into a deep sleep.

The following is a preview to give you an idea of what to expect from this season.

Francis Hodgson Burnett was a book-loving girl born to a middle-class family in Manchester, England in 1849.

When her father died suddenly, the family were required to move frequently, even

migrating to Knoxville, Tennessee, with an uncle to support them until his business failed during the Civil War.

Francis turned to writing at a young age to earn money for her family

and had her first book published within one year at 17 years old.

She went on to live in England and Paris and finally settled in Washington DC where her husband practiced as a doctor.

After Francis's great success with another children's novel, Little Lord Fonlroy, she became established as a writer of children's fiction, and she brought a home in England.

Here she wrote The Secret Garden, which was published in 1911.

It revents around the life of a little girl named Mary Lennox, born to wealthy but neglectful

parents in India under the British Empire.

After she is left orphaned, the girl's life is turned upside down when she's forced to move to the care of her extended family,

finding comfort in the nature of the grounds of the estate.

We hope you will join us for this season. However, if you decide that the secret garden just isn't

your cup of tea, feel free to explore the rest of the bookshelf, because we are sure you will find something to help guide you into a rest full

sleep. Don't forget too. Our premium subscription offers additional stories to choose from.

You can sign up whenever you'd like and listen to bonus content between the seasons on the main feed,

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