Frances Hodgson Burnett
'The author of Little Lord Fauntleroy was the J.K. Rowling of her time.' - The Economist.'The Secret Garden is one of the most influential children’s books ever written.' ― The New York Times.'In The Secret Garden, the orphan Mary’s rightful inheritance is ultimately herself and the natural world, ... to live a full life of both the body and the imagination.' - The Guardian.'When new beautiful thoughts began to push out the old hideous ones, life began to come back to [Colin], his blood ran healthily through his veins, and strength poured into him like a flood.' - The Secret Garden.'As long as one has a garden, one has a future, and as long as one has a future, one is alive.' ― France Hodgson Burnett (in In the Garden.)'[Burnett was] an independent working mother struggling to make her fortune in a world that had not seen her kind before.' - The Economist.This a collection of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s most beloved children’s books: The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. The Secret Garden is one of the most influential children’s books ever written (New York Times). It is also one of the most widely read and loved. Mary Lennox, a lonely orphan, discovers a hidden, neglected garden on her uncle’s estate in Yorkshire. Through her care and nurturing of the garden, she transforms the garden, her own life, and the lives of those around her, bringing healing and joy. A Little Princess appeals to every imaginative girl. Young Sara Crewe is left at a boarding school in London while her wealthy father returns to India. Her father dies, and she becomes a poor orphan. However, she maintains her kindness and imagination, and her fortunes eventually change. It has been made into at least eight movies and as many musicals. Little Lord Fauntleroy was an immediate success. Soon after its publication it was performed on Broadway. It established Burnett’s literary career and set her on the path to being one of the best-paid writers of her time. The character Cedric Errol (Lord Fauntleroy) captured the American imagination, and many young boys were dressed in 'Fauntleroy suits' of black velvet with a lace collar. This remarkable trio of books shows children at their best and their worst, experiencing the magic of childhood, and provides encouragement and subtle life lessons whilst always entertaining.Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. Her life story is almost as remarkable and magical as those of her heroes. At nineteen she began writing to supplement her widowed mother’s income. She drove herself to write to such an extent that later, she would refer to herself as 'a pen-driving machine'. With the publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy her fame spread across America, England and even into Europe. Burnett became one of the highest-paid writers of her time, with extravagant tastes in clothes and decorating. She was, according to her biographer Gretchen Gerzina, 'the model of the ’new woman,’ self-supporting, independent and a shrewd businesswoman,' all in addition to being the mother of two boys. She found inspiration for her novels in her experience writing to support her family, in her children, and in later years in the restorative power of her garden. She is now remembered for these three children’s novels: The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
