Frances Hodgson Burnett was a novelist and playwright best known for her children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885) and The Secret Garden (1911). She was also the author of several other popular novels, including The Lost Prince (1915) and A Little Princess (1905).
Burnett was born in Manchester, England, in 1849. She moved to the United States with her family in 1865. She began writing stories and novels in the 1870s, and her first novel, That Lass o'Lowrie's, was published in 1877.
Burnett's novels are known for their strong female characters and their themes of family, friendship, and self-discovery. She was a popular author during her lifetime, and her books have been translated into many languages and adapted into films and television shows.
Burnett died in 1924 at the age of 74. She is buried in Roslyn Cemetery in Roslyn, New York.
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Family Overview
Frances Hodgson Burnett was from a loving family that experienced tragedy when she was still young. Prior to migrating to America, her father died, and she had one sibling who died young.
She and her other siblings, along with her mother, migrated to America shortly before the Civil War.
She married and had two children while her siblings moved around the country a bit.
Of her two children, only one survived her.
She and her husband divorced. She remarried for a short time after but divorced again.
Family Tree Chart
Parents:
Edwin Hodgson (1816 - 1853) - He was born in England and did not migrate to the United States prior to his passing. He and his wife had five children.
Eliza Boond (1810 - 1870) - She was born in England and came to the United States later in the 19th century. She and her husband had five children. She migrated with her children after his passing.
Spouse:
Swan Moses Burnett (1848 - 1906) - The couple had two sons together, but their marriage did not last. They divorced in the 1890s, and he remarried.
Stephen Townshend (1860 - 1914) - They married in 1900 and were only married for two years before they divorced.
Children:
Lionel Burnett (1874 - 1890) - He died at a young age while in Paris, France, with his mother. He died of tuberculosis, which put his mother into a depression.
Vivian Burnett (1876 - 1937) - He graduated from Harvard University with an honorable mention in four of his five studies. Vivian became a reporter for the Denver Republican, covering courts and police and writing art and music criticism. He wrote a column for the Washington Times, and in New York, he wrote for a new publication called Children's Magazine. At age 38, Vivian was a bachelor living with his mother on the grand estate she had built on Long Island. Vivian, In 1914, surprised everyone by becoming engaged to 21-year-old Constance Buel. They shared many interests, including a love of sailing. The couple settled on Long Island Sound, a two-minute walk from Frances' estate, and had two daughters, Verity and Dorinda. He tragically died of a heart attack just after he rescued four victims at sea whose boat had capsized.
Siblings:
Herbert Edwin Hodgson (1846 - unknown) His passing date is unknown. He married and lived in Tennessee after the family's migration.
John George Hodgson (1847) - His passing is unknown, but he was born in England and did not migrate, so it is assumed he died shortly after birth.
Edit Mary Hodgson (1852 - 1931) - She lived in Tennessee and married twice. She had two children with her first husband.
Edwina Emma Hodgson (1854 - 1910) - She migrated when she was just a baby. She married in Tennessee and then moved to California. She died in California, a widow. Children are unknown.