Customer Reviews (1)

Award winning, profusely illustrated biography of scandalous
Written for young people. grades 4-8, this is an interesting biography for Frances Hodgson Burnett fans of all ages. She was the Danielle Steel of her day, crossing the Atlantic 33 times.Her comings, goings, and divorces made front-page news in The New York Times and in other newspapers.This biography, which School Lihrary Journal says "reads like a good novel," offers many quotations from Frances and her friends, plus photos and illustrations from her books and plays.This review is written by the author--can you tell?For a slide-illustrated lecture call 561 965-4155 ... Read more

Book Description
Hugely successful in her own time for adult novels and plays, Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) would be astounded to find out she is remembered for a handful of books for children, but most of all for the enormously popular Secret Garden. This fascinating biography-the first to have the full cooperation of Burnett's descendants and relatives-examines her life with lively intelligence, sensitivity, and fascinating new, never-before-published material.

Burnett's life was full of those reversals of fortune that mark her work. Following modest beginnings in mid-Victorian Manchester, she arrived in post-Civil War Tennessee at the age of fifteen with her widowed mother and two sisters. Burnett was the breadwinner of the family from the age of seventeen, eventually publishing a total of fifty-two books and writing and producing thirteen plays. She made and spent a fortune in her lifetime, was generous and profligate, yet anxious about money and obsessively hardworking.

Constantly restless and inventive, Burnett's personal life was as complex as her professional one. Her first marriage to a southern doctor disintegrated as a result of her notorious flirtations and a scandalous affair, and her subsequent marriage to an English doctor turned actor suffered a similar fate. She understood the intensity and loneliness of the thoughtful child, but was herself a largely absent mother of two sons-overwhelmed by guilt when tragedy struck one of them; the other one never got over being the model for Little Lord Fauntleroy.

A woman of contrasts and paradoxes, this quintessentially British writer was equally at home in the United States, which honored her with a memorial in Central Park. Frances Hodgson Burnett reinvented for herself and for generations to come in both countries the magic and the mystery of the childhood she never had. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An impressive and seminal effort
While during her life time (1849-1924), Frances Hodgson Burnett was best known for her many adult novels and plays, today it is for her children's books that she is remembered, especially for her masterpiece which has become a true classic and has never been out of print -- The Secret Garden. Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Unexpected Life Of The Author of "The Secret Garden" is an impressive and seminal effort in which biographer Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina (Professor of English, Bernard College, Columbia University) had the full cooperation of Burnett's descendants and relatives to help her examine and present an inherently fascinating life story of lively intelligence, contemporary sensitivity, and a wealth of new and never-before-published materials. From her modest beginnings in mid-Victorian Manchester, to her arrival in post-Civil "War Tennessee at the age of 15 with her widowed mother and two sisters, this outstanding biography details her become the family breadwinner at the age of 17 and the eventual publishing of 52 books and 13 plays. This is also the story of her marriages, flirtations, and a scandalous affair, the troubled motherhood of two sons (one of whom become the model for Little Lord Fauntleroy). A welcome and much appreciated contribution to literary biographies, Frances Hodgson Burnett is enthusiastically recommended reading!

Fascinating life of a best-selling author
Frances Hodgson Burnett was a celebrity and author of many runaway best-sellers from the 1870s to the 1920s and beyond.Now mostly remembered for her children's books, she had great fame for her romances and plays as well.This English-born author moved to the US as a child and became a true-life American rags-to-riches story.It is extremely interesting to learn how she was carried away by the resulting fame and fortune and what choices she made.

I have always loved Frances Hodgson Burnett's books and am delighted that such a detailed biography is now available.I have read the previous accounts of her life but this book is especially well-written and contains plenty of new material.Highly recommended. ... Read more

Book Description
This book is a collection of articles about the life and work of Frances Hodgson Burnett. The broad range of subjects and the varied backgrounds of the contributing authors are a tribute to Burnett's wide and international appeal. The book includes articl ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

List of essays in this book
Here are the essays in this book, from the table of contents:

* Introduction -- by Angelica Shirley Carpenter
* Not Just for Children: The Life and Legacy of Frances Hodgson Burnett -- by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
* A Biographer Looks Back -- by Ann Thwaite
* Rereading Little Lord Fauntleroy: Deconstructing the Innocent Child -- by Ariko Kawabata
* The Changing Mothering Roles in Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess, and The Secret Garden -- by Deborah Druley
* Rats in Black Holes and Corners: An Examination of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Portrayal of the Urban Poor -- by Carole Dunbar
* The Making of a Marchioness -- by Alison Lurie
* Lady of the Manor -- by Angelica Shirley Carpenter
* "A Delicate Invisible Hand": Frances Hodgson Burnett's Contributions to Theatre for Youth -- by Barbara Jo Maier
* The Film Adaptations of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Stories -- by Paul H. Frobose
* Snugness: the Robin in Its Nest -- by Jerry Griswold
* Cultural Work: The Critical and Commercial Reception of The Secret Garden, 1911-2004 -- by Anna Lundin
* Painting the Garden: Noel Streatfeild, the Garden as Restorative, and Pre-1950 Dramatizations of The Secret Garden -- by Sally Sims Stokes
* Dreams, Imaginations, and Shattered Illusions: Overlooked Realism in Carol Wiseman's Film Adaptation of Burnett's A Little Princess -- by Lance Weldy
* Discovering the Fiction of Frances Hodgson Burnett -- by Deborah Bellew
* The Frances Hodgson Burnett Online Discussion Group: A Modern History -- by Diana Birchall
* Keeper of the Keys -- Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina interviews Penny Deupree
* A Filmography of Motion Picture Adaptations of Frances Hodgson Burnett's Stories -- by Paul H. Frobose
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good source for critiques
For readers who are interested in Burnett's novels for adults, Bixler's work is a very good companion volume to Ann Thwaite's "Waiting for the Party".

Divided into several sections and including a chronology, Bixler summarizes Burnett's most famous works plus her lesser known novels and plays.Special attention is given to Burnett's novel "Through One Administration", which was much lauded in its day for its insight and plausibility (and the fact that it did not have a guaranteed happy ending).

Along with providing brief but concise biographical data on Burnett (heavily citing Thwaite), Bixler's work is a helpful and informative source for readers interested in the artist's personal, as well as professional, life. ... Read more

Book Description

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett's timeless story, has been cherished by generations of readers ever since it was first published in 1912.

Now, in this beautifully illustrated volume, you can step into the world of The Secret Garden. Learn all about Burnett's life and the different events and places that inspired her to write her beloved story. Discover what an English manor house was like, from the dÉcor to the gardens to the staff that kept it running smoothly. Make Mrs. Sowerby's Hot Oak-cakes, create moss-covered flower urns, and learn traditional English rope-skipping rhymes. You'll even find out how to plant your own secret garden!

For everyone who loved The Secret Garden, Inside The Secret Garden brings this magical world vividly to life.

Customer Reviews (1)

Gorgeous and informative book!
For anyone who wants to learn more about "The Secret Garden" and its author--where the original garden really was, how an English robin differs from an American robin, how to make a nesting station for birds in your garden, what "oatcakes" and "doughcakes" are and how to make them (along with other recipes from the book), how to plant a miniature secret garden, how to make a windchime from keys like the one that unlocked the Secret Garden, and lots more!Wonderful gift.Tasha Tudor illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description
Series Editor: Robert Lecker, McGill University

Written in an easy-to-read, accessible style by teachers with years of classroom experience, Masterwork Studies are guides to the literary works most frequently studied in high school. Presenting ideas that spark imaginations, these books help students to gain background knowledge on great literature useful for papers and exams. The goal of each study is to encourage creative thinking by presenting engaging information about each work and its author. This approach allows students to arrive at sound analyses of their own, based on in-depth studies of popular literature. Each volume:

• Illuminates themes and concepts of a classic text
• Uses clear, conversational language
• Is an accessible, manageable length from 140 to 170 pages
• Includes a chronology of the author's life and era
• Provides an overview of the historical context
• Offers a summary of its critical reception
• Lists primary and secondary sources and index

Book Description
Series Editor: Robert Lecker, McGill University

Written in an easy-to-read, accessible style by teachers with years of classroom experience, Masterwork Studies are guides to the literary works most frequently studied in high school. Presenting ideas that spark imaginations, these books help students to gain background knowledge on great literature useful for papers and exams. The goal of each study is to encourage creative thinking by presenting engaging information about each work and its author. This approach allows students to arrive at sound analyses of their own, based on in-depth studies of popular literature. Each volume:

• Illuminates themes and concepts of a classic text
• Uses clear, conversational language
• Is an accessible, manageable length from 140 to 170 pages
• Includes a chronology of the author's life and era
• Provides an overview of the historical context
• Offers a summary of its critical reception
• Lists primary and secondary sources and index