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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT Frances Eliza Hodgson was born on November 24, 1849, in Manchester, England. She was the third of five children born to Eliza Boond and Edwin Hodgson, who operated an interior decorating store. After his death in 1852, Eliza struggled unsuccessfully in her efforts to maintain the business and eventually gave up and moved her family to the United States. They settled near Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1865. With her family now reduced to humbler circumstances, Frances tried to help out financially. Calling upon her creativity and her talent for storytelling, she started writing stories. Some of her early works found publication in periodicals like Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1868. ​ After her mother’s death, Frances Hodgson had to work even harder to support her five siblings. However, soon she was receiving a steady income from her writing. Then, in the fall of 1873 she married Dr. Swann Burnett. After travelling in Europe for a number of months they returned to the U.S. and lived in Washington, D. C. and, later, New York City. Beginning in 1879 Burnett had several stories published in St. Nicholas Magazine, and other ​ ​ magazines soon followed, including the popular Scribner’s Monthly and Harper’s Bazaar. She began ​ ​ ​ ​ working on novels like The Lass O’Lowries (1876) and A Fair Barbarian (1881). She also co-wrote a ​ ​ ​ ​ stage drama with William Gillette, the play Esmeralda (1881). She went on to pen Through One ​ ​ ​ Administration in 1883, Sara Crewe (a book and a stage version) in 1888 and her best-selling novel, ​ ​ ​ Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1886. Her fame grew and her social life was crowded with admirers. ​ Yet, while Burnett’s work was well received by the public and critics, her life was far from perfect. She was frequently ill, perhaps due to heat and the pressures of career and family. Then, when the elder of her two sons, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1890, she became deeply depressed. She turned to Spiritualism and strange religions to cope. Her marriage to Swan Burnett was unhappy, and she finally divorced him in 1898. Afterward, she spent much of her time at her country home in England, writing outside in the gardens. During this period, Burnett also revised her previously published work, Sara Crewe, renaming and re-publishing it as A Little Princess (1905). ​ ​ ​ ​ Meanwhile, working amid the beautiful gardens and grounds of her beloved country home inspired the author to pen her classic, The Secret Garden (1911), which went on to become one of her most ​ ​ renowned and beloved works. The author went through a difficult period during the early 1900s, in part due to the stress of a short-lived, unhappy second marriage, which also finally ended in divorce. Afterward she returned to her country home and gardens in England for a time and enjoyed a period of great creativity and success in her writing life. In 1907, however, Burnett returned to America for good, having gained her U.S. citizenship. She continued writing there, completing several more novels, including The ​ Dawn of Tomorrow (1909), The Lost Prince(1915), and Robin (1922). Frances Hodgson Burnett died ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ on October 29, 1924, in Plandom, New York and lies buried in Roslyn Cemetery, Nassau County, New York State.

AFTER READING, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS IN COMPLETE SENTENCES:

1. Name three books written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and give their publication dates.

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2. Why did Burnett (then Hodgson) start writing stories?______

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3. What may have helped to inspire Burnett to write The Secret Garden?______​ ​ ______

4. When and where did Burnett die? How old was she when she died?______

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5. Do you think Burnett’s life a happy one? Why or why not?______

______6. Was Burnett an American writer or a British writer? Explain your answer. ______

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