Karen Inglis’s The Secret Lake (2011) is a time-slip fantasy novel for middle-grade readers. The story follows siblings Stella and Tom, who have recently moved from Hong Kong, China, to a home in London, England, with a large, shared garden. Their curiosity about a neighbor’s mysteriously disappearing dog leads them to discover a hidden boat and a secret tunnel that transports them to the same garden 100 years in the past. There, they befriend the children who once lived in their house and uncover a web of secrets that connects the two time periods. The novel explores themes of The Interconnectedness of Past and Present, Courage as an Act of Empathy, and Friendship Across Time and Social Divides.

Inspired by the real communal gardens of West London where her own children played, Inglis self-published The Secret Lake through her own press. The book’s popularity grew through word of mouth and online reviews, eventually becoming an international bestseller that has sold over a million copies. Part of a long tradition of British time-slip stories for children, the novel blends adventure with historical commentary on the social injustices of the Edwardian era. In 2021, film rights for the novel were acquired by Millennium Media.

This guide refers to the 2011 Well Said Press edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, and child abuse.

Plot Summary

A young boy named Tom Hawken digs in the communal garden of his new London home, annoying the gardener, Charlie Green. Tom and his older sister, Stella Hawken, recently moved from Hong Kong. While Tom loves the large garden, Stella misses her friends. Stella especially cherishes a friendship bracelet given to her by Hannah, her best friend in Hong Kong. Tom becomes intrigued by the mysterious disappearances of Harry, a terrier belonging to their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Moon, and decides to investigate.

A week later, while Harry is missing again, Tom and Stella are on a grassy mound on “The Island,” a cluster of trees in the garden. Tom’s digging uncovers what they realize is a buried boat. Suddenly, Harry emerges from a nearby rhododendron bush, soaking wet, and runs home. Before they can investigate further, their mother calls them away. They cover the boat with a log, and Stella speculates that a hidden body of water must be nearby.

At five o’clock the next morning, Stella sees Harry heading back to The Island and wakes Tom. They follow but lose him. On his way back, Tom glimpses a group of moles scampering in a circle before they vanish. Later, after Mrs. Moon calls about Harry again, the siblings return to the bush he came from. Inside, Tom’s arm slips into a deep hole, where they discover a rusty ladder leading down. They descend the ladder, which transitions into a massive underground tree trunk with nodules and branches they can climb.

As they climb down the tree, daylight appears from below. They emerge beside a large, beautiful lake. A scruffy boy in ragged clothes rows a boat frantically toward them. He asks for their help pulling it ashore, tells them not to mention seeing him, and disappears into the woods. Tom and Stella row across the lake and find themselves in what appears to be their own garden, but in the past. They see two girls and their governess, dressed in old-fashioned clothing. Tom shouts when he sees Harry with them, giving away their position.

They meet the girls, Sophie and Emma Gladstone. The older Sophie is haughty, while the younger Emma is friendly. The Gladstones are puzzled by Tom and Stella’s modern clothes. Emma assumes that they’re the visiting Australian cousins of her friend Lucy, and the two go along with the explanation. When Tom points to the Hawkens’ house, Sophie claims that it’s the Gladstones’. Their conversation is interrupted by a constable and a man named Crawley, who are searching for a young thief who has stolen silver and Mrs. Gladstone’s coin purse. The suspect is a boy named Jack. Mrs. Gladstone, the girls’ mother, arrives and dismisses Tom and Stella.

Alone, Stella explains her theory to Tom: The tunnel has taken them back in time. They return to the lake, but the tunnel at the top of the tree has vanished. They find Jack, who explains that he’s not a thief. His father, a builder named Jacob, was framed for theft by Crawley. Jack was in the Gladstone house trying to retrieve his father’s tools. He also mentions seeing special moles that scuttle in a circle, a sight his father also witnessed. Tom and Stella realize that they saw the moles just before the tunnel appeared and conclude that the moles control the portal.

As night falls, the three children row back to the Gladstone house for food, using a key that Jack has. Inside, Tom insists on seeing his future bedroom, which is currently a grand dining room. They hear footsteps and hide inside the large fireplace. The approaching person turns out to be Emma. Tom loses his grip and falls into the fireplace at her feet.

Stella explains everything to Emma, who believes them because she has also seen the special moles. Outside, the moles perform their circular dance, signaling that the tunnel is ready. As they prepare to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone are heard searching for Emma. Jack creates a diversion by running into the open, allowing the others to escape, but he is caught. Devastated, Tom and Stella return through the tunnel to their own time.

Back in the present, Tom is overcome with guilt and insists that they must rescue Jack. He runs back to The Island alone. Stella, after finding her lost friendship bracelet, realizes that he’s right and follows. They travel back through the tunnel and are met by Lucy Cuthbertson, who witnessed the chase. Lucy informs them that Crawley has beaten Jack and locked him in the cellar. Using the key that Tom forgot to return, they sneak into the house and free Jack. As they escape, Emma appears, followed by Sophie, who betrays them by screaming for her father.

The children flee, but Crawley catches Stella. Emma confronts Crawley, accusing him of being the thief, while Stella secretly records their conversation on her iPhone. Emma produces the stolen silver, which she says Harry dug up from Crawley’s hiding spot. Mr. Gladstone dismisses this as proof, but Stella plays the recording of Crawley’s incriminating words. Convinced by the disembodied voice, everyone accepts Crawley’s guilt, and he is arrested. During the confusion, Jack slips away. Lucy helps Tom and Stella escape.

Jack meets them and confirms that the tunnel is open. Stella gives her friendship bracelet to Lucy to pass to Emma. Jack rows them across the lake one last time, and Stella gives him her torch as a gift before she and Tom return to their time. Days later, Tom finds Mrs. Gladstone’s lost coin purse in the garden. Suspecting that the gardener, Charlie, knows about the tunnel, they visit Mrs. Moon. After a confusing first visit, they return a week later to find her much sharper. In her sitting room, they discover two old trunks belonging to Sophie and Emma. Mrs. Moon reveals that she is the elderly Emma. She explains that she and Lucy also used the tunnel, traveling to the future. She confirms that Harry is the same dog, traveling between her childhood and old age, and that Charlie knows the secret and has been helping Harry. She returns the faded friendship bracelet to Stella.

The next morning, the children learn that Mrs. Moon has died. After the funeral, Charlie approaches the children, apologizing for his gruffness and explaining that he was protecting the moles for her. Before leaving for a new job, he leaves them a package. Inside is Stella’s old torch and a note from “Charles Green.” He reveals that he is Jack’s son and that his grandfather was Jacob.