To read selected works by Frances Hodgson Burnett, choose
from the list in the left column.
Brief Biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett:
Frances Hodgson Burnett, (November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924) was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Born Frances Eliza Hodgson in Manchester, England, her family emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee in the United States after the death of her father in 1864. Frances soon found herself the head of a family of four younger siblings when her mother died in 1867. She turned to writing to support the family. Soon she was being published regularly in Godey's, Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Ladies' Magazine and Harper's Bazaar. Her main writing talent was combining realistic detail of working-class life with a romantic plot.
In 1886 she published Little Lord Fauntleroy. It was originally intended as a children's book, but had a great appeal to mothers. It created a fashion of long curls (based on her son Vivian's) and velvet suits with lace collars (based on Oscar Wilde's attire). The book sold more than half a million copies.
Her later works include Sara Crewe (1888) - later rewritten as A Little Princess (1905); The Lady of Quality (1896) - considered one of the best of her plays; and The Secret Garden (1909) - for which she is probably best known today.
From the mid-1890s she lived mainly in England, but in 1909 she moved back to the United States, after having become a U.S. citizen in 1905.
Frances Hodgson Burnett died in Plandome, New York and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
For a more complete biography, see Frances Hodgson Burnett on Wikipedia
Choose from the list in the left column to read books by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
More Resources for Frances Hodgson Burnett
Read free online books by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Choose from the list in the left column.
