Burnett wrote some of the most loved and best-known classic children's books, including Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden. She also wrote novels and plays for adults.
Early Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett was born on November 24, 1849, in Manchester. When she was 16 years old, her family moved to the United States. They settled in Knoxville, Tennessee, which seemed like paradise to her, having come from an industrial city.
She always loved storytelling. She began writing short stories for magazines to help support the family. After the polluted industrial city she had come from, Tennessee seemed like paradise, but she remained strongly attached to England, and her most popular books are set in the English countryside.
Burnett's Children's Books
After Burnett had married and given birth to two sons, she began to write children's books. Her first success in writing great books for kids was That Lass o' Lowrie's, published when she was 28. It was about a mining family.
Ten years later she became famous as the author of Little Lord Fauntleroy. The book was so popular that there was a craze of mothers dressing their sons with velvet suits and lace collars based on Oscar Wilde's attire, as well as looking like a hero. The film starring Freddie Bartholomew as Little Lord Fontleroy was a blockbuster itself. Burnett based Little Lord Fauntleroy's character on her young son, Vivian.
The Secret Garden
Burnett's two marriages ended unhappily. Living alone, she divided her time between England and Long Island, New York. It was in the rose garden of her English home that she wrote her famous book, The Secret Garden, published when she was in her 60s. Through the years, it has captivated children with its simple tale of courage, friendship and finding happiness.
From the mid-1890s, Burnett mainly lived in England, but in 1909 she moved back to the US becoming a US citizen in 1905. She died on October 29, 1924, aged 74.
Works by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- That Lass o' Lowrie's, 1877
- Haworth's, 1879
- Louisiana, 1880
- Little Lord Fauntleroy, 1886
- Editha's Burglar, 1888
- The One I Knew Best of All, 1898, Memoir of her youth
- Piccino and Other Child Stories, 1894
- The Lady of Quality, 1896, Play
- A Little Princess, 1905
- The Secret Garden, 1911
- The Making of a Marchioness, 1911
- The Lost Prince, 1915
- The Head of the House of Coombe, 1922, published in Canada
Sources:
Goring, Rosemary, editor. Larousse Dictionary of Writers. New York: Larousse, 1994
McGovern, Una, editor. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap, 2002
Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993
Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. Carlton Books Limited, 1997
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