About
Frances Hodgson Burnett was born in Manchester, England, and emigrated to the United States in 1865. She published her first story in 1868 and her first novel, That Lass o' Lowrie's, in 1877. Her breakthrough, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), sold over half a million copies. She is best known for her children's classics, including The Secret Garden (1911), inspired by the walled rose garden at Maytham Hall in Kent, and A Little Princess (1905), adapted from her novella Sara Crewe (1888). She wrote over 40 novels, plays, and short stories, leading a transatlantic life between England and the United States, of which she became a citizen in 1905.
* 1849-11-24 — † 1924-10-28
Major works
- That Lass o' Lowrie's (1877)novel
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)novel
- A Lady of Quality (1896)novel
- A Little Princess (1905)novel
- The Secret Garden (1911)novel
Key milestones
- 1865Emigrated with her family to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee.
- 1905Became a U.S. citizen.
- 1936A memorial fountain with sculptures of Mary and Dickon from The Secret Garden was erected in Central Park's Conservatory Garden.
Themes
Childhood and imaginationRedemption and transformationNature and healingSocial class and resilienceIdentity and belonging
Sources: britannica.com · english-heritage.org.uk