Frances Hodgson Burnett
Mary Lennox is born in India. She is a sickly, sallow child, whose parents hide her away with her Ayah. After her parents die in a cholera outbreak she is sent to live in Yorkshire with her uncle. She is, once more, left mostly to herself. Her uncle still mourns his beautiful wife ten years after her death, and seeks to escape his grief by traveling. When a chambermaid tells Mary about her mistress's garden, which her master locked up on her death,
...Sara Crewe's young but doting father sends her to a London boarding school when she is seven. On her eleventh birthday her life of luxury comes to an abrupt end when she receives news that her father has died, shortly after losing his entire fortune. The school-mistress turns Sara into a servant to pay off her debts, and though Sara uses the entire force of her imagination and her good heart to remember who she is and keep starvation from the door,
...Left to her own devices after her husband's death, Robin's vain, scatterbrained mother is wholly incapable of taking care of herself, much less her young daughter. Amidst this tumultuous environment, does Robin stand a chance of growing up to be a fully functioning adult? Read Frances Hodgson Burnett's gripping domestic drama The Head of the House of Coombe to find out how this tale unfolds.
Though she is today best remembered for her contributions to the canon of young adult literature, which include the classic The Secret Garden, author Frances Hodgson Burnett also penned a number of novels intended for adult audiences. The complex family drama In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim follows several families that have been rent asunder by various forces—some avoidable, some inescapable—and the steps they
...Twelve-year-old Marco has lived his entire life in a series of dingy, barely habitable rented flats, moving around Europe at a moment's notice, and seeing his father only sporadically. Remarkably, along the way, Marco has attained a formidable intelligence, and his kind heart and even disposition shine through in everything he does. One day, secrets from his past begin to surface, and suddenly the mystery of his true identity begins to fall into
...6) My Robin
Fans of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel The Secret Garden will relish this charming anecdote that further expands upon the robin that features in that book. In response to a reader's letter, Burnett reminisces about her love of English robins—and one in particular that changed her life forever.
This allegorical tale of a saintly king who moves heaven and earth for the good of his people is another winner for young audiences from Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of the beloved children's book The Secret Garden. Easy to understand and full of inspiring messages about doing the right thing, The Land of the Blue Flower is a wonderful and memorable read.
Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to make friends at boarding school and settle in.
But when she learns that she'll never see her beloved father again, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she must swap dancing lessons and luxury for drudgery and a room in the attic. Will she find that kindness and generosity are all the riches she truly needs?
With deeply poignant introduction written by bestselling
9) Robin
This follow-up to Frances Hodgson Burnett's previous novel, The Head of the House of Coombe, picks up the tale of a pair of childhood sweethearts, Robin and Donal, who reignite their love even as the specter of World War I looms over them. In addition to a sweet romance, Robin offers a fascinating glimpse into the evolving mores and social standards of the era.
Dive into a classic of children's literature from the pen of the author who created The Secret Garden. Little Lord Fauntleroy follows the adventures of the title character, a young American boy who unexpectedly becomes wealthy when he inherits a vast fortune from English relatives and teaches his aristocratic family about the importance of charity and compassion.
11) The Shuttle
If you're tired of Victorian heroines who are weak-willed, simpleminded, and utterly incapable of looking out for themselves, you simply must make the acquaintance of Bettina Vanderpoel, the refreshingly shrewd, independent, and level-headed protagonist of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel The Shuttle. In the early twentieth century, America's nouveau riche families began to marry off their daughters to British aristocrats, and many of these
...12) "Seth"
Seth is a deeply moving short story by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of many beloved childhood classics, including Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. A young Englishman walks into a down-on-its-luck Tennessee mining town, and at first the locals are reluctant to accept him. But before long, Seth's selflessness has made him an important part of the community.
13) A Fair Barbarian
In Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Fair Barbarian, cultures clash when an affluent American heiress makes a splash in a sleepy British village. Octavia Bassett, a spirited young woman who hails from the untamed outback of Nevada, shocks and offends many of the staid aristocrats she encounters—but she manages to capture a few hearts, as well.
In Frances Hodgson Burnett's compelling historical novel A Lady of Quality, a girl named Clorinda is born and raised in a horrible environment. Motherless, resented, and brought up as a boy by her drunken lout of a father, the odds are stacked against her. Can Clorinda rise above the circumstances of her birth and childhood and find true happiness?
15) Esmeralda
Cultures clash to disastrous effect in this tale from Frances Hodgson Burnett, acclaimed author of titles such as Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Secret Garden. An American family living in Paris strives to make a splash among the upper crust of their adopted country. The story is told from the perspective of a tutor hired to instruct their lovely young daughter, Esmeralda, who is fascinated by his dealings with this new breed of social
...16) One Day At Arle
In this gripping short story from The Secret Garden author Frances Hodgson Burnett, unspeakable tragedy befalls Arle, a small, tight-knit fishing community on England's coast. Will the town be able to pick up the pieces and start over? One Day at Arle is a moving tale that will linger on in readers' minds.
17) Lodusky
Born in England, Frances Hodgson Burnett emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee with her family at the age of 16. Faced with financial hardship, she began to write fiction and non-fiction pieces as a means of making money. Eventually, she emerged as a popular writer of children's literature, penning such classics as The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. Lodusky, a short story set in the American
...This two-part tale from Frances Hodgson Burnett has it all: a charming character portrait of Emily, who in the first part of the story lives alone and is content in her admittedly predictable life; an account of a swept-off-one's-feet romance that will have even the most jaded reader swooning; and a descent into a gothic mystery that's packed with plot twists.
