Little Lord Fauntleroy

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This article is about the novel. For the film, TV and opera adaptations, see Little Lord Fauntleroy (disambiguation).

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"Fauntleroy" redirects here. For other uses, see Fauntleroy (disambiguation).
Little Lord Fauntleroy
File:Fauntleroycover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Frances Hodgson Burnett
Illustrator Reginald Birch
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Children's novel
Publication date
 1886

Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by English playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was originally published as a serial in the St. Nicholas Magazine between November 1885 and October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's in 1886.[1] The accompanying illustrations by Reginald Birch set fashion trends and Little Lord Fauntleroy also set a precedent in copyright law when in 1888 its author won a lawsuit against E. V. Seebohm over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work.[2]

Plot

In a shabby New York side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known only as Mrs. Errol or "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death of his father, Captain Cedric Errol. One day, they are visited by an English lawyer named Havisham with a message from Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, an unruly millionaire who despises America and was very disappointed when his youngest son married an American lady. With the deaths of his father's elder brothers, Cedric has now inherited the title Lord Fauntleroy and is the heir to the earldom and a vast estate. Cedric's grandfather wants him to live in England and be educated as an English aristocrat. He offers his son's widow a house and guaranteed income, but he refuses to have anything to do with her, even after she declines his money.

However, the Earl is impressed by the appearance and intelligence of his American grandson and is charmed by his innocent nature. Cedric believes his grandfather to be an honorable man and benefactor, and the Earl cannot disappoint him. He therefore becomes a benefactor to his tenants, to their delight, though takes care to let them know that their benefactor is the child, Lord Fauntleroy.

Meanwhile, a homeless bootblack named Dick Tipton tells Cedric's old friend Mr. Hobbs, a New York City grocer, that a few years prior, after the death of his parents, Dick's older brother Benjamin married an awful woman who got rid of their only child together after he was born and then left. Benjamin moved to California to open a cattle ranch while Dick ended up in the streets. At the same time, a neglected pretender to Cedric's inheritance appears, the pretender's mother claiming that he is the offspring of the Earl's eldest son. The claim is investigated by Dick and Benjamin, who come to England and recognize the alleged heir's mother as Benjamin's former wife. The alleged heir's mother flees, and the Tipton brothers and Benjamin's son do not see her again. Afterwards, Benjamin goes back to his cattle ranch in California where he happily raises his son by himself. The Earl is reconciled to his American daughter-in-law, realizing that she is far superior to the imposter.

The Earl planned to teach his grandson how to be an aristocrat. Instead, Cedric teaches his grandfather that an aristocrat should practice compassion towards those dependent on him. He becomes the man Cedric always innocently believed him to be. Cedric is happily reunited with his mother and Mr. Hobbs, who decides to stay to help look after Cedric.

Impact on fashion

The Fauntleroy suit, so well-described by Burnett and realised in Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings, created a fad for formal dress for American middle-class children:

"What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship." (Little Lord Fauntleroy)

The Fauntleroy suit appeared in Europe as well, but nowhere was it as popular as in America. The classic Fauntleroy suit was a velvet cut-away jacket and matching knee pants worn with a fancy blouse with a large lace or ruffled collar. These suits appear right after the publication of Mrs. Burnett's story (1885) and were a major fashion until after the turn of the 20th century. Many boys who did not wear an actual Fauntleroy suit wore suits with Fauntleroy elements such as a fancy blouse or floppy bow. Only a minority of boys wore ringlet curls with these suits, but the photographic record confirms that many boys did. It was most popular for boys about 3–8 years of age, but some older boys wore them as well. It has been speculated that the popularity of the style encouraged many mothers to breech their boys earlier than before and was a factor in the decline of the fashion of dressing small boys in dresses and other skirted garments.[3] Clothing Burnett popularised was modelled on the costumes she tailored herself for her two sons, Vivian and Lionel.[2]

A lobby card from the 1921 film adaptation starring Mary Pickford.

Reception

Polly Hovarth writes that Little Lord Fauntleroy "was the Harry Potter of his time and Frances Hodgson Burnett was as celebrated for creating him as J.K. Rowling is for Potter." During the serialisation in St. Nicholas magazine, readers looked forward to new instalments. The fashions in the book became popular with velvet Lord Fauntleroy suits being sold, as well as other Fauntleroy merchandise such as velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. During a period when sentimental fiction was the norm, and in the United States the "rags to riches" story popular, Little Lord Fauntleroy was a hit.[4]

Edith Nesbit included in her own children's book The Enchanted Castle (1907) a rather unflattering reference:

Gerald could always make himself look interesting at a moment's notice (...) by opening his grey eyes rather wide, allowing the corners of his mouth to droop, and assuming a gentle, pleading expression, resembling that of the late little Lord Fauntleroy who must, by the way, be quite old now, and an awful prig.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

There have been several movie versions of the book produced over many years:

Broadway debut

File:Little Lord Fauntleroy Broadway Theatre The Theatre Dec 8 1888 p503.png
Broadway cast listed in The Theatre

Little Lord Fauntleroy
Original Cast, Broadway Theatre, New York, 10 December 1888.[11][12]
Earl of Dorincourt – J. H. Gilmore
Cedric Errol (Lord Fauntleroy) – Elsie Leslie and Tommy Russell
Mr. Havisham, a Solicitor – F. F. Mackay
Mr. Hobbs, a Grocer – George A. Parkhurst
Dick, a Bootblack – Frank E. Lamb
Higgens, a Farmer – John Swinburne
Wilkins, a Groom – Alfred Klein
Thomas, a Footman – John Sutherland
James, a Servant – T. J. Plunkett
Mrs. Errol ("Dearest") – Kathryn Kidder
Mina – Alice Fischer
Mary – Effie Germon

See also

References

  1. ↑ Joanne Shattock, ed. The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Volume 4 1800–1900. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 1475.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rutherford
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Hovarth,(2004)|, xi–xiv
  5. ↑ Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ BFI entry
  7. ↑ Google News
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Little Lord Fauntleroy – Internet Broadway Database accessed 6.7.13

Sources

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Rutherford, L.M. (1994), "British Children's Writers 1880–1914", in Laura M. Zaldman, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 141, Detroit: Gale Research Literature Resource Center

External links

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