When Tom Long is sent to quarantine at his aunt and uncle’s apartment, he expects a dull summer confined to a house with no yard. However, when the grandfather clock in the hallway strikes thirteen, Tom discovers a large Victorian garden that exists only during the night. He meets Hatty, a girl from the past who grows older each time they meet while Tom remains the same age. They climb trees and play together, navigating the physical boundaries of a world that shifts between 1950s reality and a nineteenth-century landscape.
Children and adults read this story to experience a distinct mechanical approach to time travel and historical shifts. It appeals to those interested in the logic of ghosts and the intersection of memory and physical space. Readers walk away with a specific understanding of how aging changes perspective and how two people can inhabit the same geography across different eras. The narrative provides a clear look at loneliness and the way imaginative play bridges the gap between childhood and the onset of adult responsibilities.
Contemplative; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1958
- Language
- EN
