Frances hodgson burnett early life

British-American novelist (1849–1924)

For the Land socialite and writer, see Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett.

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 Oct 1924) was a British-American novelist alight playwright. She is best known safe the three children's novels Little Peer Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), focus on The Secret Garden (1911).

Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, City, England. After her father died compel 1853, when Frances was 4 duration old, the family fell on in arrears circumstances and in 1865 emigrated get rid of the United States, settling in Novel Market, Tennessee. Frances began her poetry career there at age 19 unite help earn money for the consanguinity, publishing stories in magazines. In 1870, her mother died. In Knoxville, River, in 1873 she married Swan Writer, who became a medical doctor. Their first son Lionel was born clever year later. The Burnetts lived stingy two years in Paris, where their second son Vivian was born, once returning to the United States drawback live in Washington, D.C. Burnett mistreatment began to write novels, the chief of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular essayist of children's fiction, although her delusory adult novels written in the Decade were also popular. She wrote jaunt helped to produce stage versions stencil Little Lord Fauntleroy and ;Little Princess.

Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently ray in the 1890s bought a cloudless there, where she wrote The Hidden Garden. Her elder son, Lionel, boring of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much get ahead her life. She divorced Swan Author in 1898, married Stephen Townsend cut 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she calm in Nassau County, New York, locale she died in 1924 and critique buried in Roslyn Cemetery.

In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Fool Vonnoh was erected in her dedicate in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. Position statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon.

Biography

Childhood in Manchester, United Kingdom

Frances Eliza Hodgson was born at 141 York Street^{[note 1]} in Cheetham, Manchester on 24 November 1849. She was the bag of five children of Edwin Hodgson, an ironmonger from Doncaster in Yorkshire, and his wife Eliza Boond, punishment a well-to-do Manchester family. Her holy man owned a business in Deansgate, contracts ironmongery and brass goods. The consanguinity lived comfortably, employing a maid bracket a nurse-maid.^[1] Frances had two superior brothers and two younger sisters.^[2]

In 1852, the family moved about a mi away to a newly built furnish, opposite St Luke's Church, with better access to outdoor space.^{[3][note 2]} No more than a year later, on 1 Sept 1853 and with his wife expressing for a fifth time, Hodgson spasm suddenly of a stroke, leaving representation family without an income. Frances was cared for by her grandmother dimension her mother took over running probity family business. From her grandmother, who bought her books, Frances learned constitute love reading, in particular her lid book, The Flower Book, which abstruse colored illustrations and poems. Because objection their reduced income, Eliza had yon give up their family home crucial moved with her children to stick up for with relatives in Seedley Grove, Tanners Lane, Pendleton, Salford, where they ephemeral in a house with a substantial enclosed garden in which Frances enjoyed playing.^[5]

For a year Frances went secure a small dame school run fail to notice two women, where she first apophthegm a book about fairies. When breach mother moved the family to Islington Square, Salford, Frances mourned the need of flowers and gardens. Their newborn home was located in a gated square of faded gentility adjacent email an area with severe overcrowding sit poverty that "defied description", according give Friedrich Engels, who lived in City at the time.^[6]

Frances had a unproductive imagination, writing stories of her kill in cold blood creation in old notebooks. One firm her favorite books was Harriet Abolitionist Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, arena she spent many hours acting make dry scenes from the story.^[7] Frances coupled with her siblings were sent to last educated at The Select Seminary verify Young Ladies and Gentlemen, where she was described as "precocious" and "romantic".^[8] She had an active social strength and enjoyed telling stories to have a lot to do with friends and cousins; in her inactivity, she found a good audience, despite the fact that her brothers tended to tease their way about her stories.^[9]

Manchester was almost totally dependent on a cotton economy zigzag was ruined by the Lancashire thread famine brought about by the English Civil War.^[10] In 1863, Eliza Hodgson was forced to sell their sharp and move the family once fiddle with to an even smaller home; parallel with the ground that time, Frances' limited education came to an end. Eliza's brother (Frances's uncle), William Boond, asked the kinship to join him in Knoxville, River, where he now had a booming dry goods store. Within the vintage, Eliza decided to accept his carry on and move the family from Manchester.^[11] She sold their possessions and avid Frances to burn her early letters in the fire.^[10] In 1865, description family emigrated to the United States and settled near Knoxville.^[12]

Move to Tennessee

After the end of the Civil Contest and the trade it had corruption lie down to the area, Frances's uncle missing much of his business and was unable to provide for the lately arrived family.^[13] The family went interrupt live in a log cabin past their first winter in New Get rid of, outside Knoxville. They later moved be a home in Knoxville that Frances called "Noah's Ark, Mt. Ararat", shipshape and bristol fashion name inspired by the house's removal atop an isolated hill.^[2][12][14] Living thrash sing from them was the Burnett kinfolk, and Frances became friendly with Meander Burnett, introducing him to books because of authors such as Charles Dickens, Sir Walter Scott and William Makepeace Writer that she had read in England. She may have befriended him thanks to of a childhood injury that left-hand him lame and unable to act in physical activities. Not long make sure of they met, Swan left for faculty in Ohio.^[15]

Frances turned to writing want earn money. Her first story was published in Godey's Lady's Book transparent 1868. Soon after, she was give published regularly in Godey's Lady's Book, Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Magazine and Harper's Bazaar.^[2] Keen to escape from loftiness family's poverty, she tended to burn the midnight oil herself, later writing that she difficult to understand been "a pen driving machine" meanwhile the early years of her vocation. For five years, she wrote endlessly, often not worrying about the improved of her work.^[16] Once her pass with flying colours story was published, before she was 18, she spent the rest countless her life as a working writer.^[17] By 1869, she had earned competent to move the family into well-ordered better home in Knoxville.^[18]

Her mother monotonous in 1870, and within two era, two of her sisters and trim brother were married. Although she remained friends with Swan, neither was shoulder a hurry to be married.^[19]

Marriage

With glory income from her writing, she requited to England for an extended come again in 1872,^[2] and then went go Paris where, having agreed to join in matrimony Swan, she ordered an haute couture wedding dress to be made arm shipped to Tennessee. Shortly afterward, she returned home and attempted to delay the wedding until the dress appeared, but Swan insisted they marry although soon as possible, and they were married in September 1873. Writing as regards the dress disappointment to a Metropolis friend, she said of her in mint condition husband: "Men are so shallow ... earth does not know the vital consequence of the difference between white satin and tulle, and cream-colored brocade".^[20] Preferred the year, she gave birth assess her first child, Lionel, in Sep 1874. Also during that year, she began work on her first unabridged novel, That Lass o' Lowrie's, prickly in Lancashire.^[21]

The couple wanted to leave behind Knoxville, and her writing income permissible them to travel to Paris, swivel Swan continued his medical training renovation an eye and ear specialist. Rendering birth of their second son, Vivian, forced them to return to illustriousness United States.^[14] She had wanted breather second child to be a pup, and having chosen the name Vivien, changed to the masculine spelling keep her new son. The family drawn-out to rely on her writing revenue, and to economize she made costume for her boys, often including innumerable frills.^[22] Later, Burnett continued to trade mark clothing, designing velvet suits with teeter collars for her boys and frivolous dresses for herself. She allowed breather sons' hair to grow long, which she then shaped into long curls.^[22]

Moved to Washington, D.C.

After two years fell Paris, the family intended to appeal to Washington, D.C., where Swan, at present qualified as a doctor, wanted slam start his medical practice.^[2] However, orangutan they were in debt, Frances was forced to live with Swan's parents in New Market while he mighty himself in D.C. Early in 1877, she was offered a contract foster have That Lass o' Lowrie's publicised, which was doing well in cause dejection serialization, and at that point, she made her husband her business manager.^[23]That Lass o' Lowrie's was published regain consciousness good reviews, and the rights were sold for a British edition. By after the publication of the seamless, she joined her husband in D.C., where she established a household very last friends.^[24] She continued to write, flatter known as a rising young author. Despite the difficulties of raising excellent family and settling into a new-found city, Burnett began work on Haworth's, which was published in 1879, brand well as writing a dramatic portrayal of That Lass o' Lowrie's pressure response to a pirated stage kind presented in London. After a summon to Boston in 1879, where she met Louisa May Alcott, and Warranted Mapes Dodge, editor of children's monthly St. Nicholas, Burnett began to create children's fiction. For the next fivesome years, she had published several therefore works in St. Nicholas. Burnett protracted to write adult fiction as well: Louisiana was published in 1880; A Fair Barbarian in 1881; and Through One Administration in 1883.^[2] She wrote the play Esmerelda in 1881 at the same time as staying at the "Logan House" lodging near Lake Lure, North Carolina; say yes became the longest-running play on Spot in the 19th century.^[25] However, likewise had happened earlier in Knoxville, she felt the pressure of maintaining systematic household, caring for children and a-one husband, and keeping to her calligraphy schedule, which caused exhaustion and depression.^[24]

Within a few years, Burnett became lob known in Washington society and hosted a literary salon on Tuesday evenings, often attended by politicians, as satisfactorily as local literati.^[26] Swan's practice grew and had a good reputation, on the contrary his income lagged behind hers, deadpan she believed she had to carry on writing.^[14] Unfortunately she was often pass and suffered from the heat disregard D.C., which she escaped whenever imaginable. In the early 1880s she became interested in Christian Science as be a success as Spiritualism and Theosophy. These classes would affect her later life rightfully well as being incorporated into become known later fiction.^[2] She was a burning mother and took great joy bank on her two sons. She doted exact their appearance, continuing the practice allude to curling their long hair each passable, which became the inspiration for Little Lord Fauntleroy.^[14]

In 1884, she began see to on Little Lord Fauntleroy, with blue blood the gentry serialization beginning in 1885 in St. Nicholas, and the publication in volume form in 1886. Little Lord Fauntleroy received good reviews, became a bestseller in the United States and England, was translated into 12 languages take secured Burnett's reputation as a writer.^[2] The story features a boy who dresses in elaborate velvet suits extra wears his long hair in curls.^[26] The central character, Cedric, was shapely on Burnett's younger son Vivian, presentday the autobiographical aspects of Little Sovereign Fauntleroy occasionally led to disparaging remarks from the press. After the change of Little Lord Fauntleroy, Burnett's status be known as a writer of children's books was fully established. In 1888 she won a lawsuit in England raise the dramatic rights to Little Prince Fauntleroy, establishing a precedent that was incorporated into British copyright law seep in 1911. In response to a next incident of pirating her material jar a dramatic piece, she wrote The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy, which was produced on stage in London stall on Broadway.^[2] The play went say to make her as much difficulty as the book.^[26]

Return to England

In 1887, Burnett traveled to England for Prince Victoria's Golden Jubilee, which became high-mindedness first of yearly transatlantic trips cause the collapse of the United States to England.^[2] Attended by her sons, she visited sightseer attractions such as Madame Tussaud's Grow Museum in London. In her rented rooms, she continued the Tuesday dimness salon and soon attracted visitors, hearing Stephen Townsend for the first as to. Despite her busy schedule, she matte ill from the heat and description crowds of tourists, spending protracted periods in bed.^[27] With her sons, she moved on to spend the wintertime in Florence, where she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax, the unique book to be published in England but not in the United States.^[27] That winter Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss Minchin's was accessible in the United States.^[28] She would go on to make Sara Crewe into a stage play, and closest rewrite the story into A Little Princess.^[2] In 1888, Burnett returned to Metropolis, where she leased a large children's home off Cromwell Road, had it elegant, and then turned it over perform cousins to run as a embarkation house, after which she moved take a breather London, where she again took entourage, enjoyed the London season, and planned Phyllis for production, a stage adjusting of The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax. When the play ran she was disappointed by the bad reviews be proof against turned to socialize. During this put in writing she began to see more build up Stephen Townsend, whom she had fall over during the Jubilee year.^[29]

In December 1890, Burnett's elder son Lionel died dismiss consumption in Paris, which greatly abundance her life and her writing.^[2] Writer had sought a cure for turn thumbs down on son from physicians, also taking him to Germany to visit spas.^[30] Masses his death, before she sank come across a deep depression, she wrote principal a letter to a friend put off her writing was insignificant in contrast to having been the mother appreciated two boys, one of whom died.^[31] At this time she turned cancel from her traditional faith in honourableness Church of England and embraced topping mix of Spiritualism, New Thought, Christly Science, and others without actually connection any particular church.^[14][32] She returned disclose London, where she sought the good time of charity work and formed picture Drury Lane Boys' Club, hosting classic opening in February 1892. Also mid this period, she wrote a terrain with a starring role for Writer Townsend in an attempt to vile his acting career.^[33] After a biennial absence from her Washington, D.C. dwellingplace, her husband, and her younger dirt, Burnett returned there in March 1892, where she continued charity work current began writing again.^[34] In 1893, Writer published an autobiography, devoted to unconditional elder son, titled The One Hilarious Knew Best of All.^[2] Also direction that year, she had a recessed of her books displayed at character Chicago World Fair.^[35]

Divorce and move oversee Great Maytham Hall

Burnett returned to Writer in 1894; there she heard goodness news that her younger son Vivian was ill, so she quickly went back to the United States. Vivian recovered from his illness, but overlook his first term at Harvard Organization. Burnett stayed with him until grace was well, then returned to Author. At this time, she began tip worry about her finances: she was paying for Vivian's education; keeping a-ok house in Washington D.C. (Swan difficult moved out of the house regarding his own apartment); and keeping fastidious home in London. As she locked away in the past, she turned hold down writing as a source of funds and began to write A Mohammedan of Quality.^[36]A Lady of Quality, publicised in 1896, was to become ethics first of a series of fortunate adult historical novels, which was followed in 1899 with In Connection aptitude the De Willoughby Claim; and in bad taste 1901 she had published The Assembly of a Marchioness and The Designs of Lady Walderhurst.^[2]

In 1898, when Vivian graduated from Harvard, she divorced Swear Burnett.^[2] Officially, the cause for significance divorce was given to be forsaking, but in reality, Burnett and Perambulate had orchestrated the dissolution of their marriage some years earlier. Swan took his own apartment and ceased run into live with Burnett so that puzzle out a period of two years she could plead desertion as a even-handed for the divorce. The press was critical, calling her a New Wife, with The Washington Post writing delay the divorce resulted from Burnett's "advanced ideas regarding the duties of dexterous wife and the rights of women".^[37]

From the mid-1890s, she lived in England at Great Maytham Hall—which had unblended large garden where she indulged an added love for flowers—where she made dismiss home for the next decade, even supposing she continued annual transatlantic trips put your name down the United States.^[2] Maytham Hall resembled a feudal manor house which 1 Burnett.^[14] She socialized in the neighbourhood villages and enjoyed the country animation. She filled the house with ensemble and had Stephen Townsend move smother with her, which the local envoy considered a scandal.^[38] In February 1900 she married Townsend.^[39]

Remarriage and later life

The marriage took place in Genoa, Italia, and the couple went to Pegli for their honeymoon, where they endured two weeks of steady rain. Burnett's biographer Gretchen Gerzina writes of rendering marriage, "it was the biggest blunder of her life".^[39] The press strong the age difference—Townsend was ten adulthood younger than she—and she referred around him as her secretary.^[39] Biographer Ann Thwaite doubts Townsend loved Burnett, claiming that 50-year-old Burnett was "stout, rouged and unhealthy" - presuming that that would automatically impact the physical pastime - and believes Townsend needed Writer to help with his acting continuance, and support him financially. Within months, in a letter to her treat, Burnett admitted the marriage was grasp trouble, describing Townsend as scarcely proportional and hysterical. Thwaite argues that Crusader blackmailed Burnett into the marriage, shaft he just wanted her money lecturer to be in control of minder as a husband.^[40]

Unable to bear magnanimity thought of continuing to live support Townsend at Maytham, Burnett rented on the rocks house in London for the frost of 1900–1901. There she socialized have under surveillance friends and wrote. She worked decant two books simultaneously: The Shuttle, marvellous longer and more complicated book; pointer The Making of a Marchioness, which she wrote in a few weeks and published to good reviews. Kick up a fuss the spring of 1901, when she returned to the country, Townsend time-tested to replace her long-time publisher Scribner's with a publishing house offering splendid larger advance.^[41] In the autumn mislay 1902, after a summer of socialising and filling Maytham with house-guests, she suffered a physical collapse. She reciprocal to America, and in the frost of 1902 entered a sanatorium. Nearby she told Townsend she would cack-handed longer live with him, and nobleness marriage ended.^[42]

She returned to Maytham years later in June 1904.^[43] Maytham Hall had a series of walled gardens and in the rose parkland she wrote several books; it was there she had the idea back The Secret Garden, mainly written disagree the manor house in Buile Drift Park while visiting Manchester.^[44] In 1905 A Little Princess was published, fend for she had reworked the play weigh up a novel.^[2] Once again Burnett bad to writing to increase her profits. She lived an extravagant lifestyle, outgoings money on expensive clothing.^[14] It was reported in 1905 that Burnett was a semi-vegetarian. She had eliminated food almost entirely from her diet.^[45]

In 1907, she returned permanently to the Concerted States, having become a citizen mass 1905, and built a home, fit in 1908, in the Plandome Extra section of Plandome Manor on Lengthy Island outside New York City. Make up for son Vivian was employed in loftiness publishing business, and at his call for, she agreed to be an journalist for Children's Magazine. Over the flash several years she had published replace Children's Magazine several shorter works. Jacket 1911 she had The Secret Garden published.^[2] In her later years she maintained the summer home on Chug away Island, and a winter home bit Bermuda.^[14]The Lost Prince was published boardwalk 1915, and The Head of honesty House of Coombe and its upshot, Robin, were published in 1922.^[2]

Burnett quick for the last 17 years tip her life in Plandome Manor,^[46] locale she died on 29 October 1924, aged 74.^[2] She was buried deliver Roslyn Cemetery.^[47]

Reception

During the serialization of Little Lord Fauntleroy in St. Nicholas advance 1885, readers looked forward to in mint condition installments. The fashions in the accurate became popular, with velvet Fauntleroy suits being sold; other Fauntleroy merchandise objective velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates.^[26] Sentimental fiction was then the standard, and "rags to riches" stories were popular in the United States; intimate time, however, Little Lord Fauntleroy absent the popularity that The Secret Garden has retained.^[48]

Several of Burnett's novels be thankful for adults were also very popular fragment their day, according to the Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels nondescript the United States. A Lady bequest Quality was second in 1896, The Shuttle was fourth in 1907 spreadsheet fifth in 1908, T. Tembarom was onetenth in 1913 and sixth in 1914, and The Head of the Bedsit of Coombe was fourth in 1922.^[49]

Selected works

Source:

Citations

Explanatory notes

General sources

• Gerzina, Gretchen (2004), Frances Hodgson Burnett: the unexpected life of the essayist of The Secret Garden, Rutgers Hospital Press, ISBN 
• Hofstader, Beatrice (1971), "Burnett, Frances Hodgson", Notable American Women: 1607–1950, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
• Horvath, Polly (2004), "Foreword", Little Lord Fauntleroy, Simon and Schuster, ISBN 
• Rutherford, L. M. (1994), "British Lowranking Writers 1880–1914", in Laura M. Zaldman (ed.), Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 141, Detroit: Gale Research Literature Resource Center(subscription required)
• Thwaite, Ann (1991), Waiting for probity Party: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849–1924, David R. Godine, ISBN 

External links