The Night Gardener

Written by Jonathan Auxier in 2014, The Night Gardener is a middle-grade ghost story about two siblings who flee from Ireland only to find themselves trapped in a house where a demonic tree drains the life force of the inhabitants. The book won several awards, including the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award and the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children, and it was also shortlisted for the Governor General's Award for English-language children's literature (2014). Canadian-born author Jonathan Auxier writes books for young readers, and in addition to The Night Gardener, he is best known for the award-winning Sweep (2018) and the Peter Nimble series. He has a bachelor’s degree from Trinity Western University and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He now lives in Pittsburg with his wife.

This guide follows the 2014 Amulet Books edition of The Night Gardener.

Plot Summary

The Night Gardener opens with siblings Molly and Kip arriving at the Windsor manor, which is located on a spooky island and nearly overgrown by an enormous tree. Desperate for work, Molly convinces the Windsors to let her and Kip stay on, even though Mrs. Constance Windsor is initially against the idea. Molly wants to find a place to feel comfortable and safe, but she struggles to do so and feels alone because she is keeping Kip from discovering the reality of their parents’ deaths.

One night, Molly wakes to hear strange footsteps prowling through the house. A mysterious Night Man stalks the halls, and Molly follows him and observes him filling a watering can with a strange glowing liquid that he wipes from the foreheads of the nightmare-plagued Windsors. By day, however, Molly all but forgets about the man and starts to settle into her new life as a housekeeper while Kip works in the stables.

Mr. Windsor brought his family to the house within the last year. After risking what little money he had on bad investments and falling into debt, he returned to the house, believing that the enchanted tree that dominates the house and grants wishes would provide him with the means to get back on his feet. However, the events of the story will reveal that the tree exacts a high price for granting such wishes. As Molly learns more about the Windsors’ situation, strange coincidences start to pile up. She notices that the portrait of the family painted a year ago shows them looking healthy and vibrant: a far cry from the gray and sickly people they are now. In addition, she discovers that a locked room on the second floor of the house seems to be providing the family with gifts, including money that isn’t quite enough for Mr. Windsor to pay off his debts.

Missing their parents and wanting to keep pretending that they are alive, Molly convinces Kip that they should send their parents a letter. Molly keeps the letter close so Kip doesn’t discover the truth, and one afternoon while cleaning, she finds the mysterious room on the second floor unlocked. Inside, the tree makes up an entire wall of the room. As she watches, a knot hole fills with sea water, and an envelope with her name on it bobs to the surface. It’s a letter from her parents in response to the letter that Molly never sent. Although Molly suspects that something is amiss, she keeps accepting letters from the tree, unwilling to give up this unexpected connection with her parents.

The Night Man’s visits continue, and one night, Molly and Kip wait up, only to have the man attack them when they try to stop his work. Kip later tries to investigate the strange coincidences and is almost buried alive by the tree. Meanwhile, Molly discovers that she too is turning gray and sickly just like the Windsors. Shortly after Molly’s realization, Constance collapses of weakness, and a doctor comes to care for the family. Molly enlists his help to try and remove the Night Man—the sure cause of the sickness in the house—but the Night Man overpowers them, killing the doctor and sending Kip and Molly running for their lives.

By daylight, Molly and Kip return to the Windsor house, convincing the family to escape. Before they can leave, however, Mr. Windsor’s creditors show up, threatening the family if Mr. Windsor doesn’t pay his debts. Having figured out that the tree room gives people what they most want, Molly brings the men there. They are gifted with money, and when one of the men tries to cut into the wall to extract more cash, the Night Man appears and defends the tree. The Night Man kills the creditors, and Molly, Kip, and the Windsors take a final stand against the house and the tree.

While Kip distracts the Night Man, Molly sets fire to the house, but the flames don’t touch the tree. Realizing that the only way to destroy the tree is from within, she sets fire to the letters the tree gave her and drops them into the knot hole upstairs. The tree burns, destroying the Night Man and breaking the curse surrounding the house. By dawn, the land and Windsors are rejuvenated, and Kip and Molly set out to find their place in the world.