# Mrs. Sowerby — The Secret Garden character guide

> Mrs. Sowerby in The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Susan Sowerby, Susan, Mother

**First appearance:** 0003-iv-martha

## Snapshot

A moorland cottage mother with a rosy, comfortable face, who mothers every child she meets and quietly nudges the whole story toward its healing.

## Who they are

She is Dickon and Martha's mother, poor in coin but rich in sense, and the one adult the children trust with their secret. When she sees Colin's uplifted face she calls him 'dear lad' instead of 'Mester Colin,' and tells him his father must come home. Her warm, supported feeling is exactly what two motherless children have been starving for, and she becomes the story's quiet engine of restoration.

## Relationships

### [Mary Lennox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/mary_lennox)

_social_

Mrs. Sowerby is the warm, motherly figure who provides comfort and wisdom to Mary from afar.

### [Martha Sowerby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/martha_sowerby)

_family_

Martha is the devoted daughter of Mrs. Sowerby, who raises her large family with love and practicality.

### [Dickon Sowerby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/dickon_sowerby)

_family_

Dickon is Mrs. Sowerby's son, sharing her deep connection to nature and her nurturing spirit.

### [Mary Lennox](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/mary_lennox)

_social_

Mrs. Sowerby is the warm, motherly figure who provides comfort and wisdom to Mary from afar.

### [Martha Sowerby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/martha_sowerby)

_family_

Martha is the devoted daughter of Mrs. Sowerby, who raises her large family with love and practicality.

### [Dickon Sowerby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/dickon_sowerby)

_family_

Dickon is Mrs. Sowerby's son, sharing her deep connection to nature and her nurturing spirit.

### [Dickon Sowerby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/dickon_sowerby)

_family_

Dickon is Mrs. Sowerby's son, sharing her deep connection to nature and her nurturing spirit.

## In the story

### [VII: The Key of the Garden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/vii-the-key-of-the-garden)

Martha speaks of her mother's wisdom and good nature; Mary says she likes Mrs. Sowerby without having met her.

### [The Robin Who Showed the Way](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/viii-the-robin-who-showed-the-way)

Martha's mother who buys the skipping rope for Mary and expresses concern about Mary being alone.

### [The Nest of the Missel Thrush](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/xi-the-nest-of-the-missel-thrush)

Mentioned as one of the five people Mary likes and as the one who packs Dickon's lunch.

### [XIX: “It Has Come!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/xix-it-has-come)

Quoted by Mrs. Medlock for her wisdom about children and the 'whole orange' metaphor.

### [XXIV: “Let Them Laugh”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/xxiv-let-them-laugh)

Mrs. Sowerby sends fresh milk and currant buns to the children, demonstrating her kindness and 'magic.' She is thanked profusely by Colin.

### [XXVI: “It’s Mother!”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/xxvi-it-s-mother)

Susan Sowerby enters the garden, comforts Colin and Mary, and reassures Colin that his father will return.

### [In the Garden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/chapters/xxvii-in-the-garden)

Writes a letter urging Mr. Craven to return home, which prompts his journey back.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters/mrs_sowerby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_secret_garden_se/characters