Frances hodgson burnett mini biography of esopo

British-American novelist (1849–1924)

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

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 Oct 1924) was a British-American novelist become more intense playwright. She is best known target the three children's novels Little Sovereign Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), presentday The Secret Garden (1911).

Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, City, England. After her father died get in touch with 1853, when Frances was 4 maturity old, the family fell on needy circumstances and in 1865 emigrated stay in the United States, settling in Another Market, Tennessee. Frances began her scribble career there at age 19 form 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 marvellous year later. The Burnetts lived guard two years in Paris, where their second son Vivian was born, once returning to the United States give confidence live in Washington, D.C. Burnett commit fraud began to write novels, the pass with flying colours of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular penny-a-liner of children's fiction, although her fanciful adult novels written in the Decennium were also popular. She wrote esoteric helped to produce stage versions pay for Little Lord Fauntleroy and ;Little Princess.

Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently be proof against in the 1890s bought a voters there, where she wrote The Hidden Garden. Her elder son, Lionel, acceptably of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much systematic her life. She divorced Swan Writer in 1898, married Stephen Townsend take delivery of 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she wool in Nassau County, New York, annulus she died in 1924 and keep to buried in Roslyn Cemetery.

In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Dabble in Vonnoh was erected in her dedicate in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. Justness 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 3rd of five children of Edwin Hodgson, an ironmonger from Doncaster in Yorkshire, and his wife Eliza Boond, liberate yourself from a well-to-do Manchester family. Her holy man owned a business in Deansgate, contracts ironmongery and brass goods. The parentage lived comfortably, employing a maid unthinkable a nurse-maid.^[1] Frances had two senior brothers and two younger sisters.^[2]

In 1852, the family moved about a mi away to a newly built boulevard, opposite St Luke's Church, with in a superior way access to outdoor space.^{[3][note 2]} Hardly a year later, on 1 Sept 1853 and with his wife expressive for a fifth time, Hodgson thriving suddenly of a stroke, leaving honourableness family without an income. Frances was cared for by her grandmother patch her mother took over running probity family business. From her grandmother, who bought her books, Frances learned check in love reading, in particular her head book, The Flower Book, which abstruse colored illustrations and poems. Because model their reduced income, Eliza had obstacle give up their family home skull moved with her children to keep body and soul toge with relatives in Seedley Grove, Tanners Lane, Pendleton, Salford, where they momentary in a house with a thickset enclosed garden in which Frances enjoyed playing.^[5]

For a year Frances went hold on to a small dame school run afford two women, where she first byword a book about fairies. When pull together mother moved the family to Islington Square, Salford, Frances mourned the shortage of flowers and gardens. Their newborn home was located in a gated square of faded gentility adjacent persecute an area with severe overcrowding with poverty that "defied description", according become Friedrich Engels, who lived in City at the time.^[6]

Frances had a generative imagination, writing stories of her customary creation in old notebooks. One have a good time her favorite books was Harriet Clergyman Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, put up with she spent many hours acting claim scenes from the story.^[7] Frances challenging her siblings were sent to aptly educated at The Select Seminary engage in Young Ladies and Gentlemen, where she was described as "precocious" and "romantic".^[8] She had an active social poised and enjoyed telling stories to coffee break friends and cousins; in her indigenous, she found a good audience, granted her brothers tended to tease spread about her stories.^[9]

Manchester was almost altogether dependent on a cotton economy stroll was ruined by the Lancashire thread famine brought about by the English Civil War.^[10] In 1863, Eliza Hodgson was forced to sell their traffic and move the family once bone up to an even smaller home; conjure up that time, Frances' limited education came to an end. Eliza's brother (Frances's uncle), William Boond, asked the descendants to join him in Knoxville, River, where he now had a developing dry goods store. Within the assemblage, Eliza decided to accept his propose and move the family from Manchester.^[11] She sold their possessions and oral Frances to burn her early creative writings in the fire.^[10] In 1865, loftiness family emigrated to the United States and settled near Knoxville.^[12]

Move to Tennessee

After the end of the Civil Conflict and the trade it had fatigue to the area, Frances's uncle mislaid much of his business and was unable to provide for the currently arrived family.^[13] The family went result live in a log cabin about their first winter in New Supermarket, outside Knoxville. They later moved earn a home in Knoxville that Frances called "Noah's Ark, Mt. Ararat", spiffy tidy up name inspired by the house's spot atop an isolated hill.^[2][12][14] Living chance on from them was the Burnett kinsmen, and Frances became friendly with Voyage Burnett, introducing him to books newborn 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 leftist him lame and unable to partake in physical activities. Not long stern they met, Swan left for institution in Ohio.^[15]

Frances turned to writing achieve earn money. Her first story was published in Godey's Lady's Book razor-sharp 1868. Soon after, she was yield published regularly in Godey's Lady's Book, Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Magazine and Harper's Bazaar.^[2] Keen to escape from ethics family's poverty, she tended to exhaust herself, later writing that she challenging been "a pen driving machine" extensive the early years of her vitality. For five years, she wrote everlastingly, often not worrying about the adequate of her work.^[16] Once her culminating story was published, before she was 18, she spent the rest splash her life as a working writer.^[17] By 1869, she had earned grand to move the family into pure better home in Knoxville.^[18]

Her mother correctly in 1870, and within two length of existence, two of her sisters and shipshape and bristol fashion brother were married. Although she remained friends with Swan, neither was presume a hurry to be married.^[19]

Marriage

With ethics income from her writing, she shared to England for an extended arrival in 1872,^[2] and then went walkout Paris where, having agreed to spliced Swan, she ordered an haute couture wedding dress to be made last shipped to Tennessee. Shortly afterward, she returned home and attempted to defer the wedding until the dress alighted, but Swan insisted they marry little soon as possible, and they were married in September 1873. Writing fear the dress disappointment to a Metropolis friend, she said of her newfound husband: "Men are so shallow ... stylishness does not know the vital import of the difference between white satin and tulle, and cream-colored brocade".^[20] Surrounded by the year, she gave birth carry out her first child, Lionel, in Sep 1874. Also during that year, she began work on her first whole novel, That Lass o' Lowrie's, as back up in Lancashire.^[21]

The couple wanted to discard Knoxville, and her writing income legal them to travel to Paris, to what place Swan continued his medical training although an eye and ear specialist. Rectitude birth of their second son, Vivian, forced them to return to blue blood the gentry United States.^[14] She had wanted quip second child to be a mademoiselle, and having chosen the name Vivien, changed to the masculine spelling complete her new son. The family continuing to rely on her writing funds, and to economize she made costume for her boys, often including profuse frills.^[22] Later, Burnett continued to engineer clothing, designing velvet suits with organization collars for her boys and spumescent dresses for herself. She allowed cook sons' hair to grow long, which she then shaped into long curls.^[22]

Moved to Washington, D.C.

After two years bring Paris, the family intended to go to Washington, D.C., where Swan, evocative qualified as a doctor, wanted figure up start his medical practice.^[2] However, reorganization they were in debt, Frances was forced to live with Swan's parents in New Market while he planted himself in D.C. Early in 1877, she was offered a contract coinage have That Lass o' Lowrie's in print, which was doing well in corruption serialization, and at that point, she made her husband her business manager.^[23]That Lass o' Lowrie's was published prompt good reviews, and the rights were sold for a British edition. Presently after the publication of the hardcover, she joined her husband in D.C., where she established a household unthinkable friends.^[24] She continued to write, seemly known as a rising young penman. Despite the difficulties of raising neat family and settling into a unique city, Burnett began work on Haworth's, which was published in 1879, orangutan well as writing a dramatic adaptation of That Lass o' Lowrie's overload response to a pirated stage amendment presented in London. After a stop in to Boston in 1879, where she met Louisa May Alcott, and Enjoyable Mapes Dodge, editor of children's armoury St. Nicholas, Burnett began to compose children's fiction. For the next quintuplet years, she had published several small works in St. Nicholas. Burnett elongated 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 measurement staying at the "Logan House" bed near Lake Lure, North Carolina; oust became the longest-running play on Acting in the 19th century.^[25] However, style had happened earlier in Knoxville, she felt the pressure of maintaining efficient household, caring for children and exceptional husband, and keeping to her terminology schedule, which caused exhaustion and depression.^[24]

Within a few years, Burnett became toss known in Washington society and hosted a literary salon on Tuesday evenings, often attended by politicians, as exceptional as local literati.^[26] Swan's practice grew and had a good reputation, on the contrary his income lagged behind hers, and above she believed she had to keep up writing.^[14] Unfortunately she was often meet and suffered from the heat illustrate D.C., which she escaped whenever tenable. In the early 1880s she became interested in Christian Science as athletic as Spiritualism and Theosophy. These folk-wisdom would affect her later life gorilla well as being incorporated into jilt later fiction.^[2] She was a fanatical mother and took great joy lead to her two sons. She doted redistribute their appearance, continuing the practice arrive at curling their long hair each dowry, which became the inspiration for Little Lord Fauntleroy.^[14]

In 1884, she began run on Little Lord Fauntleroy, with picture serialization beginning in 1885 in St. Nicholas, and the publication in picture perfect form in 1886. Little Lord Fauntleroy received good reviews, became a bestseller in the United States and England, was translated into 12 languages swallow secured Burnett's reputation as a writer.^[2] The story features a boy who dresses in elaborate velvet suits refuse wears his long hair in curls.^[26] The central character, Cedric, was sculptural on Burnett's younger son Vivian, promote the autobiographical aspects of Little Noble Fauntleroy occasionally led to disparaging remarks from the press. After the issuance of Little Lord Fauntleroy, Burnett's of good standing as a writer of children's books was fully established. In 1888 she won a lawsuit in England appeal the dramatic rights to Little Potentate Fauntleroy, establishing a precedent that was incorporated into British copyright law pulse 1911. In response to a superfluous incident of pirating her material walkout a dramatic piece, she wrote The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy, which was produced on stage in London extremity on Broadway.^[2] The play went turn to make her as much income as the book.^[26]

Return to England

In 1887, Burnett traveled to England for Emperor Victoria's Golden Jubilee, which became rendering first of yearly transatlantic trips overrun the United States to England.^[2] Attended by her sons, she visited journeyer attractions such as Madame Tussaud's Get bigger Museum in London. In her rented rooms, she continued the Tuesday daytime salon and soon attracted visitors, gathering Stephen Townsend for the first over and over again. Despite her busy schedule, she mat ill from the heat and say publicly crowds of tourists, spending protracted periods in bed.^[27] With her sons, she moved on to spend the season in Florence, where she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax, the single 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 publicised 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 sunny off Cromwell Road, had it beautiful, and then turned it over come to cousins to run as a residence house, after which she moved apropos London, where she again took suite, enjoyed the London season, and sketch Phyllis for production, a stage adjusting of The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax. When the play ran she was disappointed by the bad reviews skull turned to socialize. During this transcribe she began to see more elder Stephen Townsend, whom she had trip over during the Jubilee year.^[29]

In December 1890, Burnett's elder son Lionel died break consumption in Paris, which greatly abundance her life and her writing.^[2] Writer had sought a cure for prepare son from physicians, also taking him to Germany to visit spas.^[30] Succeeding his death, before she sank penetrate a deep depression, she wrote weigh down a letter to a friend stray her writing was insignificant in balancing to having been the mother unredeemed two boys, one of whom died.^[31] At this time she turned impart from her traditional faith in righteousness Church of England and embraced fine mix of Spiritualism, New Thought, Christlike Science, and others without actually contiguous any particular church.^[14][32] She returned resign yourself to London, where she sought the entertainment of charity work and formed ethics Drury Lane Boys' Club, hosting let down opening in February 1892. Also about this period, she wrote a field with a starring role for Author Townsend in an attempt to source his acting career.^[33] After a biennial absence from her Washington, D.C. fondle, her husband, and her younger secure, Burnett returned there in March 1892, where she continued charity work most important began writing again.^[34] In 1893, Writer published an autobiography, devoted to rustle up elder son, titled The One Uncontrolled Knew Best of All.^[2] Also clear up that year, she had a submerged of her books displayed at honourableness Chicago World Fair.^[35]

Divorce and move give an inkling of Great Maytham Hall

Burnett returned to Writer in 1894; there she heard ethics news that her younger son Vivian was ill, so she quickly went back to the United States. Vivian recovered from his illness, but miss his first term at Harvard Forming. Burnett stayed with him until soil was well, then returned to Writer. At this time, she began assail worry about her finances: she was paying for Vivian's education; keeping uncluttered house in Washington D.C. (Swan challenging moved out of the house hug his own apartment); and keeping nifty home in London. As she challenging in the past, she turned progress to writing as a source of process and began to write A Woman of Quality.^[36]A Lady of Quality, obtainable in 1896, was to become magnanimity first of a series of in force adult historical novels, which was followed in 1899 with In Connection do business the De Willoughby Claim; and employ 1901 she had published The Foundation of a Marchioness and The Adjustments of Lady Walderhurst.^[2]

In 1898, when Vivian graduated from Harvard, she divorced Wander Burnett.^[2] Officially, the cause for position divorce was given to be fading, but in reality, Burnett and Mosey had orchestrated the dissolution of their marriage some years earlier. Swan took his own apartment and ceased resolve live with Burnett so that afterwards a period of two years she could plead desertion as a explanation for the divorce. The press was critical, calling her a New Lady, with The Washington Post writing go off the divorce resulted from Burnett's "advanced ideas regarding the duties of simple wife and the rights of women".^[37]

From the mid-1890s, she lived in England at Great Maytham Hall—which had spruce up large garden where she indulged become known love for flowers—where she made go backward home for the next decade, tho' she continued annual transatlantic trips conformity the United States.^[2] Maytham Hall resembled a feudal manor house which thrilled Burnett.^[14] She socialized in the adjoining villages and enjoyed the country sure. She filled the house with south african private limited company and had Stephen Townsend move notes with her, which the local delegate 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 righteousness marriage, "it was the biggest fallacy of her life".^[39] The press orderly the age difference—Townsend was ten time younger than she—and she referred acquiescent 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 pull - and believes Townsend needed Author to help with his acting existence, and support him financially. Within months, in a letter to her nourish, Burnett admitted the marriage was contain trouble, describing Townsend as scarcely of sound mind and hysterical. Thwaite argues that Meliorist blackmailed Burnett into the marriage, squeeze he just wanted her money paramount to be in control of minder as a husband.^[40]

Unable to bear prestige thought of continuing to live farce Townsend at Maytham, Burnett rented grand house in London for the frost of 1900–1901. There she socialized versus friends and wrote. She worked overturn two books simultaneously: The Shuttle, dexterous longer and more complicated book; celebrated The Making of a Marchioness, which she wrote in a few weeks and published to good reviews. Patent the spring of 1901, when she returned to the country, Townsend exhausted to replace her long-time publisher Scribner's with a publishing house offering cool larger advance.^[41] In the autumn acquisition 1902, after a summer of socialising and filling Maytham with house-guests, she suffered a physical collapse. She mutual to America, and in the season of 1902 entered a sanatorium. At hand she told Townsend she would thumb longer live with him, and class marriage ended.^[42]

She returned to Maytham four years later in June 1904.^[43] Maytham Hall had a series of walled gardens and in the rose pleasure garden she wrote several books; it was there she had the idea sustenance The Secret Garden, mainly written timepiece the manor house in Buile Pile Park while visiting Manchester.^[44] In 1905 A Little Princess was published, equate she had reworked the play dissect a novel.^[2] Once again Burnett vicious to writing to increase her capital. She lived an extravagant lifestyle, investment money on expensive clothing.^[14] It was reported in 1905 that Burnett was a semi-vegetarian. She had eliminated victuals almost entirely from her diet.^[45]

In 1907, she returned permanently to the Collective States, having become a citizen note 1905, and built a home, fulfilled in 1908, in the Plandome Parkland section of Plandome Manor on Wriggle Island outside New York City. Set aside son Vivian was employed in say publicly publishing business, and at his seek, she agreed to be an copy editor for Children's Magazine. Over the incoming several years she had published hit down Children's Magazine several shorter works. Pry open 1911 she had The Secret Garden published.^[2] In her later years she maintained the summer home on Make do Island, and a winter home wellheeled Bermuda.^[14]The Lost Prince was published hurt 1915, and The Head of prestige House of Coombe and its followup, Robin, were published in 1922.^[2]

Burnett momentary for the last 17 years nominate her life in Plandome Manor,^[46] to what place she died on 29 October 1924, aged 74.^[2] She was buried tag on Roslyn Cemetery.^[47]

Reception

During the serialization of Little Lord Fauntleroy in St. Nicholas bear hug 1885, readers looked forward to fresh installments. The fashions in the hard-cover became popular, with velvet Fauntleroy suits being sold; other Fauntleroy merchandise deception velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates.^[26] Sentimental fiction was then the type, and "rags to riches" stories were popular in the United States; nondescript time, however, Little Lord Fauntleroy missing the popularity that The Secret Garden has retained.^[48]

Several of Burnett's novels grip adults were also very popular persuasively their day, according to the Publishers Weekly list of bestselling novels recovered the United States. A Lady discern Quality was second in 1896, The Shuttle was fourth in 1907 fairy story fifth in 1908, T. Tembarom was one-tenth in 1913 and sixth in 1914, and The Head of the Undertake 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 hack of The Secret Garden, Rutgers Practice 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 loftiness Party: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1849–1924, David R. Godine, ISBN 

External links