Inside Anne Hathaway’s Literary Sanctuary

She is not only dominating Hollywood’s cultural conversation.

By Lee Jeong-woo, at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Japan

2026 could well be named Anne Hathaway’s year. After having us wait 20 years for *The Devil Wears Prada 2 and find out what happened to Andy, Emily, Miranda, and Nigel, Anne now amazes us in The Odyssey*, where she plays Penelope, Odysseus’ wife.

But these are only a part of the films she will star in this year. Anne also appears in David Lowery’s psychological drama Mother Mary about a pop star confronting her past. A sci-fi survival film The End of Oak Street, with Ewan McGregor, and Verity, a psychological thriller adapted from the Colleen Hoover novel, playing a bedridden, best-selling author. Besides all this, together with her husband Adam Shulman, Anne is co-producing her third child.

Yet, beneath the red-carpet glamour, she anchors her mind in a surprisingly quiet, timeless place. When asked about the one book that shaped her worldview more than any other, she didn’t hesitate to point directly to a beloved 1911 classic: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Image from Amazon as a reference

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

After her parents die of cholera in India, 10-year-old Mary is sent to live with her reclusive uncle, Archibald Craven, in Yorkshire. Mary’s life changes when a local robin leads her to a walled, abandoned garden that has been locked away since the death of her aunt.

Mary befriends a local boy named Dickon, and her bedridden cousin, Colin, who believes he is incurably ill and crippled.

Together, they mend the neglected garden, and as it comes back to life. The magical healing power of nature causes both Mary and Colin to heal their illneses, unhappiness and embrace joy.

Take Away

We often forget that beneath the glamour and fame of Hollywood’s stars lies someone who struggled as a child just like us.

Nevertheless, like with The Secret Garden, the books they recommend help us find the path they used to transcend Hollywood entirely: no matter how chaotic, dark, or neglected a corner of your life might seem, there is always a key hidden nearby.

Reminding us the is up to us to be willing to unlock the door, clear out the weeds, and let the light back into our lives in our personal secret gardens.

© Copyright Jose Luis Ontanon, 2026

[embed]Earn money writing on Medium. As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, like me. Subscribe to write, publish, and earn money writing…Jlontanon.medium.com