about the author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy.

When her father died, the family was forced to sell their home and move to Salford, England. When she was sixteen, the family emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee.

In 1872 she married Swan Burnett. They lived in Paris for two years, where their two sons were born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington D.C. When her oldest son died of Tuberculosis, she was very sad.  She divorced her husband and remarried, but it only lasted a year.  She died in New York at age 74.

We have a few things in common.  My little sister's name is Eliza.  I used to live in Tennessee.  And Frances died on my birthday, October 29.  I do wish Frances would have made different choices so she could have had a happier life.  I was sad to hear about the sad parts of her life.