Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an English-American playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular Little Lord Fauntleroy, A Little Princess , and The Secret Garden.
She married Swan Burnett, who became a medical doctor after which they lived in Paris for two years where their two sons were born before returning to the US to live in Washington D.C. There she began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowries), was published to good reviews.
Burnett enjoyed socializing and lived a lavish lifestyle. Beginning in the 1880s, she began to travel to England where she wrote The Secret Garden. With her sons, she moved on to spend the winter in Florence where she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax, the only book to be published in England but not in the United States. That winter Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss Minchin's was published in the United States. She would go on to make Sara Crewe into a stage play, and later rewrite the story into A Little Princess.
She married Swan Burnett, who became a medical doctor after which they lived in Paris for two years where their two sons were born before returning to the US to live in Washington D.C. There she began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowries), was published to good reviews.
Burnett enjoyed socializing and lived a lavish lifestyle. Beginning in the 1880s, she began to travel to England where she wrote The Secret Garden. With her sons, she moved on to spend the winter in Florence where she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax, the only book to be published in England but not in the United States. That winter Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss Minchin's was published in the United States. She would go on to make Sara Crewe into a stage play, and later rewrite the story into A Little Princess.