63-458: Little Lord Fauntleroy is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett . It was published as a serial in St. Nicholas Magazine from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's (the publisher of St. Nicholas ) in 1886. The illustrations by Reginald B. Birch set fashion trends and the novel set a precedent in copyright law when Burnett won a lawsuit in 1888 against E. V. Seebohm over
126-552: A better home in Knoxville. Her mother died in 1870, and within two years, two of her sisters and a brother were married. Although she remained friends with Swan, neither was in a hurry to be married. With the income from her writing, she returned to England for an extended visit in 1872, and then went to Paris where, having agreed to marry Swan, she ordered an haute couture wedding dress to be made and shipped to Tennessee. Shortly afterward, she returned home and attempted to postpone
189-559: A childhood injury that left him lame and unable to participate in physical activities. Not long after they met, Swan left for college in Ohio. Frances turned to writing to earn money. Her first story was published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1868. Soon after, she was being published regularly in Godey's Lady's Book , Scribner's Monthly , Peterson's Magazine and Harper's Bazaar . Keen to escape from
252-531: A dramatic interpretation of That Lass o' Lowrie's in response to a pirated stage version presented in London. After a visit to Boston in 1879, where she met Louisa May Alcott , and Mary Mapes Dodge , editor of children's magazine St. Nicholas , Burnett began to write children's fiction. For the next five years, she had published several short works in St. Nicholas . Burnett continued to write adult fiction as well: Louisiana
315-546: A fad for formal dress for American middle-class children: What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship. The Fauntleroy suit appeared in Europe as well but nowhere was it as popular as in America. The classic Fauntleroy suit
378-476: A few weeks and published to good reviews. In the spring of 1901, when she returned to the country, Townsend tried to replace her long-time publisher Scribner's with a publishing house offering a larger advance. In the autumn of 1902, after a summer of socializing and filling Maytham with house-guests, she suffered a physical collapse. She returned to America, and in the winter of 1902 entered a sanatorium . There she told Townsend she would no longer live with him, and
441-462: A few years, Burnett became well known in Washington society and hosted a literary salon on Tuesday evenings, often attended by politicians, as well as local literati . Swan's practice grew and had a good reputation, but his income lagged behind hers, so she believed she had to continue writing. Unfortunately she was often ill and suffered from the heat of D.C., which she escaped whenever possible. In
504-612: A fifth time, Hodgson died suddenly of a stroke , leaving the family without an income. Frances was cared for by her grandmother while her mother took over running the family business. From her grandmother, who bought her books, Frances learned to love reading, in particular her first book, The Flower Book , which had colored illustrations and poems. Because of their reduced income, Eliza had to give up their family home and moved with her children to live with relatives in Seedley Grove , Tanners Lane , Pendleton , Salford , where they lived in
567-485: A gentle, pleading expression, resembling that of the late little Lord Fauntleroy who must, by the way, be quite old now, and an awful prig. The first stage adaptation of Hodgson's novel, titled simply Little Lord Fauntleroy , opened at the Prince of Wales' Theatre in London on 23 Feb 1888. Written by E.V. Seebohm, the piece in three acts was "suggested by Mrs F. H, Burnett's story", starred Annie Hughes as Cedric and played only
630-575: A good audience, although her brothers tended to tease her about her stories. Manchester was almost entirely dependent on a cotton economy that was ruined by the Lancashire cotton famine brought about by the American Civil War . In 1863, Eliza Hodgson was forced to sell their business and move the family once again to an even smaller home; at that time, Frances' limited education came to an end. Eliza's brother (Frances's uncle), William Boond, asked
693-449: A homeless bootblack named Dick Tipton tells Cedric's old friend Mr. Hobbs, a New York City grocer, that a few years prior, after the death of his parents, Dick's older brother Benjamin married an awful woman who got rid of their only child together after he was born and then left. Benjamin moved to California to open a cattle ranch while Dick ended up in the streets. At the same time, a neglected pretender to Cedric's inheritance appears in
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#1732851935128756-555: A house with a large enclosed garden in which Frances enjoyed playing. For a year Frances went to a small dame school run by two women, where she first saw a book about fairies. When her mother moved the family to Islington Square, Salford, Frances mourned the lack of flowers and gardens. Their new home was located in a gated square of faded gentility adjacent to an area with severe overcrowding and poverty that "defied description", according to Friedrich Engels , who lived in Manchester at
819-466: A large home off Cromwell Road, had it decorated, and then turned it over to cousins to run as a boarding house, after which she moved to London, where she again took rooms, enjoyed the London season, and prepared Phyllis for production, a stage adaptation of The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax . When the play ran she was disappointed by the bad reviews and turned to socialize. During this period she began to see more of Stephen Townsend, whom she had met during
882-630: A medical doctor. Their first son Lionel was born a year later. The Burnetts lived for two years in Paris , where their second son Vivian was born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington, D.C. Burnett then began to write novels, the first of which ( That Lass o' Lowrie's ), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in
945-483: A minority of boys wore ringlet curls with these suits, but the photographic record confirms that many boys did. It was most popular for boys about 3–8 years of age, but some older boys wore them as well. It has been speculated that the popularity of the style encouraged many mothers to breech their boys earlier than before, and it was a factor in the decline of the fashion for dressing small boys in dresses and other skirted garments. Clothing that Burnett popularised
1008-489: A period of two years she could plead desertion as a reason for the divorce. The press was critical, calling her a New Woman , with The Washington Post writing that the divorce resulted from Burnett's "advanced ideas regarding the duties of a wife and the rights of women". From the mid-1890s, she lived in England at Great Maytham Hall —which had a large garden where she indulged her love for flowers—where she made her home for
1071-436: A period when sentimental fiction was the norm, and in the United States the "rags to riches" story popular, Little Lord Fauntleroy was a hit. Edith Nesbit included in her own children's book The Enchanted Castle (1907) a rather unflattering reference: Gerald could always make himself look interesting at a moment's notice (...) by opening his grey eyes rather wide, allowing the corners of his mouth to droop, and assuming
1134-468: A play with a starring role for Stephen Townsend in an attempt to establish his acting career. After a two-year absence from her Washington, D.C. home, her husband, and her younger son, Burnett returned there in March 1892, where she continued charity work and began writing again. In 1893, Burnett published an autobiography, devoted to her elder son, titled The One I Knew Best of All . Also in that year, she had
1197-476: A set of her books displayed at the Chicago World Fair . Burnett returned to London in 1894; there she heard the news that her younger son Vivian was ill, so she quickly went back to the United States. Vivian recovered from his illness, but missed his first term at Harvard University . Burnett stayed with him until he was well, then returned to London. At this time, she began to worry about her finances: she
1260-498: A short season of matinees. After discovering her novel had been plagiarized for the stage, Burnett successfully sued and then wrote her own theatrical adaptation titled The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy . Opening on 14 May, at Terry's Theatre in London it played for 57 matinees and was subsequently presented in the English provinces, France, Boston and New York City. The Broadway production of Burnett's play opened on 10 December 1888, at
1323-497: A well-to-do Manchester family. Her father owned a business in Deansgate , selling ironmongery and brass goods. The family lived comfortably, employing a maid and a nurse-maid. Frances had two older brothers and two younger sisters. In 1852, the family moved about a mile away to a newly built terrace, opposite St Luke's Church, with greater access to outdoor space. Barely a year later, on 1 September 1853 and with his wife pregnant for
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#17328519351281386-730: Is buried in Roslyn Cemetery. In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh was erected in her honor in Central Park 's Conservatory Garden. The statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon. Frances Eliza Hodgson was born at 141 York Street in Cheetham , Manchester on 24 November 1849. She was the third of five children of Edwin Hodgson, an ironmonger from Doncaster in Yorkshire , and his wife Eliza Boond, from
1449-680: Is reconciled to his American daughter-in-law, realizing that she is far superior to the impostor. The Earl had planned to teach his grandson how to be an aristocrat. Instead, Cedric teaches his grandfather that an aristocrat should practice compassion towards those dependent on him . The Earl becomes the man Cedric always innocently believed him to be. Cedric is happily reunited with his mother and with Mr. Hobbs, who decides to stay to help look after Cedric. The Fauntleroy suit (see also Buster Brown suit ), so well described by Burnett and realised in Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings, created
1512-458: The Broadway Theatre , New York City. The original cast follows: Touring versions of the play were common in the late 19th and early 20th century. A 1906 version cast 11-year-old Buster Keaton in the role of Lord Fauntleroy. In 1994, an Australian open-air/site specific theatre production of Little Lord Fauntleroy , adapted by Julia Britton and directed by Robert Chuter, was presented in
1575-660: The 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess . Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently and in the 1890s bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden . Her elder son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898, married Stephen Townsend in 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she settled in Nassau County , New York, where she died in 1924 and
1638-505: The De Willoughby Claim ; and in 1901 she had published The Making of a Marchioness and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst. In 1898, when Vivian graduated from Harvard, she divorced Swan Burnett. Officially, the cause for the divorce was given to be desertion, but in reality, Burnett and Swan had orchestrated the dissolution of their marriage some years earlier. Swan took his own apartment and ceased to live with Burnett so that after
1701-474: The Earl is impressed by the appearance and intelligence of his American grandson and is charmed by his innocent nature. Cedric believes his grandfather to be an honorable man and benefactor, and the Earl cannot disappoint him. The Earl therefore becomes a benefactor to his tenants, to their delight, though he takes care to let them know that their benefactor is the child, Lord Fauntleroy. Meanwhile, back in New York,
1764-506: The Jubilee year. In December 1890, Burnett's elder son Lionel died from consumption in Paris, which greatly affected her life and her writing. Burnett had sought a cure for her son from physicians, also taking him to Germany to visit spas . Following his death, before she sank into a deep depression, she wrote in a letter to a friend that her writing was insignificant in comparison to having been
1827-607: The United Kingdom, the pretender's mother claiming that he is the offspring of the Earl's eldest son, Bevis. The claim is investigated by Dick and Benjamin, who come to the United Kingdom and recognize the woman as Benjamin's former wife. She flees, and the Tipton brothers and the pretender, Benjamin's son, do not see her again. Afterward, Benjamin goes back to his cattle ranch in California where he happily raises his son by himself. The Earl
1890-477: The United States to England. Accompanied by her sons, she visited tourist attractions such as Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. In her rented rooms, she continued the Tuesday evening salon and soon attracted visitors, meeting Stephen Townsend for the first time. Despite her busy schedule, she felt ill from the heat and the crowds of tourists, spending protracted periods in bed. With her sons, she moved on to spend
1953-520: The United States. She had wanted her second child to be a girl, and having chosen the name Vivien, changed to the masculine spelling for her new son. The family continued to rely on her writing income, and to economize she made clothing for her boys, often including many frills. Later, Burnett continued to make clothing, designing velvet suits with lace collars for her boys and frilly dresses for herself. She allowed her sons' hair to grow long, which she then shaped into long curls. After two years in Paris,
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2016-459: The United States; in time, however, Little Lord Fauntleroy lost the popularity that The Secret Garden has retained. Several of Burnett's novels for adults were also very popular in their day, according to the Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels in the United States. A Lady of Quality was second in 1896 , The Shuttle was fourth in 1907 and fifth in 1908 , T. Tembarom
2079-748: The area, Frances's uncle lost much of his business and was unable to provide for the newly arrived family. The family went to live in a log cabin during their first winter in New Market , outside Knoxville. They later moved to a home in Knoxville that Frances called "Noah's Ark, Mt. Ararat ", a name inspired by the house's location atop an isolated hill. Living across from them was the Burnett family, and Frances became friendly with Swan Burnett, introducing him to books by authors such as Charles Dickens , Sir Walter Scott and William Makepeace Thackeray that she had read in England. She may have befriended him because of
2142-408: The couple went to Pegli for their honeymoon, where they endured two weeks of steady rain. Burnett's biographer Gretchen Gerzina writes of the marriage, "it was the biggest mistake of her life". The press stressed the age difference—Townsend was ten years younger than she—and she referred to him as her secretary. Biographer Ann Thwaite doubts Townsend loved Burnett, claiming that 50-year-old Burnett
2205-460: The deaths of his father's elder brothers, Cedric has now inherited the title Lord Fauntleroy and is the heir to the earldom and a vast estate. Cedric's grandfather wants him to live in the United Kingdom and be educated as a British aristocrat . He offers his son's widow a house and guaranteed income, but refuses to have anything else to do with her, even after she declines his money. However,
2268-534: The early 1880s she became interested in Christian Science as well as Spiritualism and Theosophy . These beliefs would affect her later life as well as being incorporated into her later fiction. She was a devoted mother and took great joy in her two sons. She doted on their appearance, continuing the practice of curling their long hair each day, which became the inspiration for Little Lord Fauntleroy . In 1884, she began work on Little Lord Fauntleroy , with
2331-522: The family intended to move to Washington, D.C., where Swan, now qualified as a doctor, wanted to start his medical practice. However, as they were in debt, Frances was forced to live with Swan's parents in New Market while he established himself in D.C. Early in 1877, she was offered a contract to have That Lass o' Lowrie's published, which was doing well in its serialization, and at that point, she made her husband her business manager. That Lass o' Lowrie's
2394-518: The family to join him in Knoxville, Tennessee , where he now had a thriving dry goods store. Within the year, Eliza decided to accept his offer and move the family from Manchester. She sold their possessions and told Frances to burn her early writings in the fire. In 1865, the family emigrated to the United States and settled near Knoxville. After the end of the Civil War and the trade it had brought to
2457-399: The family's poverty, she tended to overwork herself, later writing that she had been "a pen driving machine" during the early years of her career. For five years, she wrote constantly, often not worrying about the quality of her work. Once her first story was published, before she was 18, she spent the rest of her life as a working writer. By 1869, she had earned enough to move the family into
2520-482: The historical gardens of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) property Rippon Lea. Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911). Frances Eliza Hodgson
2583-641: The marriage ended. She returned to Maytham two years later in June 1904. Maytham Hall had a series of walled gardens and in the rose garden she wrote several books; it was there she had the idea for The Secret Garden , mainly written at the manor house in Buile Hill Park while visiting Manchester. In 1905 A Little Princess was published, after she had reworked the play into a novel. Once again Burnett turned to writing to increase her income. She lived an extravagant lifestyle, spending money on expensive clothing. It
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2646-418: The marriage, and he just wanted her money and to be in control of her as a husband. Unable to bear the thought of continuing to live with Townsend at Maytham, Burnett rented a house in London for the winter of 1900–1901. There she socialized with friends and wrote. She worked on two books simultaneously: The Shuttle , a longer and more complicated book; and The Making of a Marchioness , which she wrote in
2709-532: The mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known to him as "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, Captain Cedric Errol. One day, they are visited by a British lawyer named Liam with a message from young Cedric's paternal grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, a millionaire who despises the United States and was very disappointed when his youngest son married an American woman. With
2772-595: The mother of two boys, one of whom died. At this time she turned away from her traditional faith in the Church of England and embraced a mix of Spiritualism, New Thought, Christian Science, and others without actually joining any particular church. She returned to London, where she sought the distraction of charity work and formed the Drury Lane Boys' Club, hosting an opening in February 1892. Also during this period, she wrote
2835-484: The next decade, although she continued annual transatlantic trips to the United States. Maytham Hall resembled a feudal manor house which enchanted Burnett. She socialized in the local villages and enjoyed the country life. She filled the house with guests and had Stephen Townsend move in with her, which the local vicar considered a scandal. In February 1900 she married Townsend. The marriage took place in Genoa , Italy, and
2898-691: The next several years she had published in Children's Magazine several shorter works. In 1911 she had The Secret Garden published. In her later years she maintained the summer home on Long Island, and a winter home in Bermuda . The Lost Prince was published in 1915, and The Head of the House of Coombe and its sequel, Robin, were published in 1922. Burnett lived for the last 17 years of her life in Plandome Manor, where she died on 29 October 1924, aged 74. She
2961-425: The rights to theatrical adaptations of the work. The title surname Fauntleroy is an Anglo-French term ultimately derived from Le enfant le roy ("child of the king"), evoking the image of being pampered and spoiled. More proximally, it is from a Middle English variant faunt from enfaunt , meaning child or infant. It is attested as a real surname since the 13th century. In a shabby New York City side street in
3024-407: The serialization beginning in 1885 in St. Nicholas , and the publication in book form in 1886. Little Lord Fauntleroy received good reviews, became a bestseller in the United States and England, was translated into 12 languages and secured Burnett's reputation as a writer. The story features a boy who dresses in elaborate velvet suits and wears his long hair in curls. The central character, Cedric,
3087-520: The time. Frances had a fertile imagination, writing stories of her own creation in old notebooks. One of her favorite books was Harriet Beecher Stowe 's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin , and she spent many hours acting out scenes from the story. Frances and her siblings were sent to be educated at The Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentlemen, where she was described as "precocious" and "romantic". She had an active social life and enjoyed telling stories to her friends and cousins; in her mother, she found
3150-904: The wedding until the dress arrived, but Swan insisted they marry as soon as possible, and they were married in September 1873. Writing about the dress disappointment to a Manchester friend, she said of her new husband: "Men are so shallow ... he does not know the vital importance of the difference between white satin and tulle , and cream-colored brocade ". Within the year, she gave birth to her first child, Lionel, in September 1874. Also during that year, she began work on her first full-length novel, That Lass o' Lowrie's , set in Lancashire. The couple wanted to leave Knoxville, and her writing income allowed them to travel to Paris, where Swan continued his medical training as an eye and ear specialist. The birth of their second son, Vivian, forced them to return to
3213-471: The winter in Florence, where she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax , the only book to be published in England but not in the United States. That winter Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss Minchin's was published in the United States. She would go on to make Sara Crewe into a stage play, and later rewrite the story into A Little Princess . In 1888, Burnett returned to Manchester, where she leased
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#17328519351283276-571: Was tenth in 1913 and sixth in 1914 , and The Head of the House of Coombe was fourth in 1922 . Source: Ringlet (haircut) A ringlet is a type of hairstyle . Ringlets are often also known as princess hair or corkscrews . It is achieved by wrapping a lock of hair around the length of a thin curling iron The curls can also be achieved by hair rollers . Loose ringlets can be created just by twisting wet hair as well. Many Haredi and Hasidic Jewish men wear payot , which may be curled as ringlets. This fashion -related article
3339-401: Was "stout, rouged and unhealthy" - presuming that this would automatically impact the physical attraction - and believes Townsend needed Burnett to help with his acting career, and support him financially. Within months, in a letter to her sister, Burnett admitted the marriage was in trouble, describing Townsend as scarcely sane and hysterical. Thwaite argues that Townsend blackmailed Burnett into
3402-402: Was a velvet cut-away jacket and matching knee pants, worn with a fancy blouse and a large lace or ruffled collar. These suits appeared right after the publication of Burnett's story (1885) and were a major fashion for boys until after the turn of the 20th century. Many boys who did not wear an actual Fauntleroy suit wore suits with Fauntleroy elements, such as a fancy blouse or floppy bow. Only
3465-447: Was born in Cheetham , Manchester , England. After her father died in 1853, when Frances was 4 years old, the family fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee . Frances began her writing career there at age 19 to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines. In 1870, her mother died. In Knoxville, Tennessee , in 1873 she married Swan Burnett, who became
3528-470: Was buried in Roslyn Cemetery . During the serialization of Little Lord Fauntleroy in St. Nicholas in 1885, readers looked forward to new installments. The fashions in the book became popular, with velvet Fauntleroy suits being sold; other Fauntleroy merchandise included velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. Sentimental fiction was then the norm, and "rags to riches" stories were popular in
3591-433: Was incorporated into British copyright law in 1911. In response to a second incident of pirating her material into a dramatic piece, she wrote The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy , which was produced on stage in London and on Broadway . The play went on to make her as much money as the book. In 1887, Burnett traveled to England for Queen Victoria 's Golden Jubilee , which became the first of yearly transatlantic trips from
3654-409: Was modeled on Burnett's younger son Vivian, and the autobiographical aspects of Little Lord Fauntleroy occasionally led to disparaging remarks from the press. After the publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy , Burnett's reputation as a writer of children's books was fully established. In 1888 she won a lawsuit in England over the dramatic rights to Little Lord Fauntleroy , establishing a precedent that
3717-619: Was modelled on the costumes which she tailored herself for her two sons, Vivian and Lionel. Polly Hovarth writes that Little Lord Fauntleroy "was the Harry Potter of his time and Frances Hodgson Burnett was as celebrated for creating him as J. K. Rowling is for Potter". During the serialisation in St. Nicholas magazine, readers looked forward to new installments. The fashions in the book became popular with velvet Lord Fauntleroy suits being sold, as well as other Fauntleroy merchandise such as velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. During
3780-435: Was paying for Vivian's education; keeping a house in Washington D.C. (Swan had moved out of the house to his own apartment); and keeping a home in London. As she had in the past, she turned to writing as a source of income and began to write A Lady of Quality . A Lady of Quality , published in 1896, was to become the first of a series of successful adult historical novels , which was followed in 1899 with In Connection with
3843-496: Was published in 1880; A Fair Barbarian in 1881; and Through One Administration in 1883. She wrote the play Esmerelda in 1881 while staying at the " Logan House " inn near Lake Lure, North Carolina ; it became the longest-running play on Broadway in the 19th century. However, as had happened earlier in Knoxville, she felt the pressure of maintaining a household, caring for children and a husband, and keeping to her writing schedule, which caused exhaustion and depression. Within
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#17328519351283906-427: Was published to good reviews, and the rights were sold for a British edition. Shortly after the publication of the book, she joined her husband in D.C., where she established a household and friends. She continued to write, becoming known as a rising young novelist. Despite the difficulties of raising a family and settling into a new city, Burnett began work on Haworth's , which was published in 1879, as well as writing
3969-520: Was reported in 1905 that Burnett was a semi-vegetarian . She had eliminated meat almost entirely from her diet. In 1907, she returned permanently to the United States, having become a citizen in 1905, and built a home, completed in 1908, in the Plandome Park section of Plandome Manor on Long Island outside New York City. Her son Vivian was employed in the publishing business, and at his request, she agreed to be an editor for Children's Magazine . Over
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