Frances Hodgson Burnett
Frances Hodgson Burnett, (November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924) was an English–American playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories. Little Lord Fauntleroy was a number one best seller in 1886, became popular as a play, immortalized her son’s curls and velvet suits, and later was made into a silent movie with Mary Pickford. The Secret Garden, called a masterpiece in children’s literature, became popular after her death and not until it was re-illustrated in the 1950s. A later work, The Little Princess, is the story of a war orphan living in a British attic who, in the end, finds her father and meets Queen Victoria.
The rags-to-riches themes of her stories echo her own rise from impoverished beginnings to international authoress. She was criticized in the press for being ‘scandalous’ - but then so was the dance craze the turkey trot - due to her flamboyant victorian era clothing, her divorce, her many travels, and her literary circle of friends and their parties. However, she never forgot the hardships of her childhood and was generous in funding various projects, particularly those involving children.
She was a trendsetter of her time, breaking new ground for other writers by fighting for copyright laws – both in the U.S. and in Britain. Her life spanned two continents until she received American citizenship in 1905 and settled on Long Island. She was buried there, a statue of her son looking like an older Lord Fauntleroy at the foot of her grave, pays tribute to her not only as writer, but as mother.
Childhood and early stories
Born Frances Eliza Hodgson in Manchester, England, she emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee in the United States after the death of her father in 1864. The American Civil War's economic effects were felt in England when demand for exports dropped off. Unable to maintain the family business after the death of her husband, Frances' mother moved her family to be near a brother in America. Financially he was unable to help the family much and for a period of time they lived in a log cabin like other pioneer families.
Frances was often teased about her writing by her older brothers so she often wrote in secret. Lacking paper or proper materials she would write her stories on the back of old grocery lists. When she did not have the necessary postage to mail in a story to a magazine her and older sister Edythe picked wild grapes on a hillside in order to earn stamp money. Her first story was published in the women's magazine, Godey's Lady's Book in 1868. She was 18 years old and earned a week as a writer, enough to support her siblings after their mother died when Frances was just 21. From then on she was published regularly in Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Ladies' Magazine and Harper's Bazaar. Her stories were known as "potboilers." Although by today's standards they might seem tame back then they were considered scintillating and riveting. Her talent lay in combining realistic detail - down to authentic accents - with a romantic plot.
Marriage and first novels
Her childhood friend and neighbor Swan Burnett asked for Frances' hand in marriage several times over a seven year period. Although, she claimed she did not love him she acquiesced to the social pressures of the time which dictated that a woman's place was in the home. They married in 1873 and she supported her husband with her writing while he worked on his medical degree. They moved to Paris to further her husband's medical studies and their first son, Lionel was born the following year. Their second son, Vivan was born in 1876 and the family then moved to Washington D.C.
Her first novel was published in 1877; That Lass o' Lowrie's was a story of Lancashire life. It was a resounding success both at home and abroad. However she learned her first difficult lesson in copy right law when, upon her move back to America, she was unable to receive royalties for the British edition of the book.
Other novels written during her years of living in Washington were Haworth's (1879), Louisiana (1880), A Fair Barbarian (1881), and Through One Administration (1883), as well as a play, Esmeralda (1881), written with William Gillette, someone she would have a long association with through her craft.
During this time, Frances became well known for her love of Victorian attire, fabulously adorned with feather boas, buttons and lace (once when they had a house fire she went back in and rescued her clothes) and for her Tuesday conversation groups. At one point the Burnetts lived next door neighbor to James Garfield and when he ran for president her sons "campaigned" for him by hanging out the upstairs windows. Having a definite flair for the dramatic herself Frances was nicknamed "Fluffy" by her family and signed her letters "Fluffina." However, she was often away from home travelling to Boston to visit her friends the Halls and other literary acquaintances. With the Halls she explored a spiritual philosophy called Theosophy which later forms the basis for the little boy in The Secret Garden, Cedric's, attempt to heal himself through positive affirmations.
Little Lord Fauntleroy and Copyright struggles
In 1886 she published her piece de resistance, Little Lord Fauntleroy. Her son, Lionel was the one who encouraged her to write it by asking, "Why don't you write a book that a little boy would like to read?" As it turns out, although it was written as a children's book it had a wide appeal especially with mothers. Little boys, most certainly chafed at the new fashion craze based on Oscar Wilde's attire of lace and velvet and the illustrations of Reginal Birch. Little Lord Fauntleroy, like megahits today, generated merchandizing souvenirs such as, outfits, toys, playing cards, and other various themed paraphanalia. The story of a little boy in America who, upon the death of his father, discovers a long lost grandfather who is a member of British aristocracy. The boy learns that he, himself, is an Earl and thus begins a new life as "Little Lord Flaunteroy". This book captured the imagination of the public with its fascinating detail about life in the upper echelons of British society. It sold more than a half million copies.
A visit to London and Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 would provide the inspiration for another book, Sarah Crewe, later published under the title, The Little Princess. However, the following year while in London she discovered that someone was staging a theatrical production of Little Lord Fauntleroy. She quickly retaliated and wrote her own version of the play which was a big success drawing audience members such as Prince Edward, Victoria's son. Learning her lesson from previous copyright troubles she decided to sue the playwright, Seebohm, for violating the Copyright Act of 1842. The courts sided with her on this. She set a precedent whereby playwrights needed to gain permission from authors before using their works. The Society of British Authors feted Burnett, hosting a dinner in her honor, and presenting her with a diamond ring and bracelet. Up until this point in her career she had been well known but now she was to return to America, an international celebrity.
Back in New York Little Lord Fauntleroy was to become a successful play and toured throughout the states playing to sell-out audiences.
Tragedy and Spirituality
In 1898 she divorced Dr. Burnett. She later re-married, this time to Stephen Townsend (1900), her business manager. Her second marriage would last less than two years, ending in 1902.
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), the children's novel for which she is probably best known today. The Lost Prince was published in 1915.
After her first son Lionel's death of consumption in 1890, Burnett delved into spiritualism and apparently found this a great comfort in dealing with her grief (she had previously dabbled in Theosophy, and some of its concepts are worked into The Secret Garden, where a crippled boy thinks he can heal himself through positive thinking and affirmations). During World War I, Burnett put her beliefs about what happens after death into writing with her novella The White People. n 1893 she published a memoir of her youth, The One I Knew Best of All. 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.
End of Life and The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett died in Plandome, New York and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery nearby, next to her son Vivian. A life-size effigy of Lionel stands at their feet.
External links
- Frances Hodgson Burnett at the Internet Movie Database
- Works by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Project Gutenberg
- Frances Hodgson Burnett Biography, photos, bibliography, e-texts and book covers
- Free audiobook of A Little Princess at Librivox
- Free audiobook of Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin’s Boarding School at Librivox
- Free audiobook of The Secret Garden at Librivox
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