Beyond the Secret Garden: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett (with a Foreword by Jacqueline Wilson)

— —

Ann Thwaite

Beyond the Secret Garden

The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett (with a Foreword by Jacqueline Wilson)

Ann Thwaite

$24.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Duckworth
06 August 2020

Biography; Biography: arts & entertainment; Biography: literary; Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 ; Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers; Gender studies: women

The definitive and revealing biography of the author of The Secret Garden.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's favourite theme in her fiction was the reversal of fortune, and she herself knew extremes of poverty and wealth. Born in Manchester in 1849, she emigrated with her family to Tennessee because of the financial problems caused by the cotton famine. From a young age she published her stories to help the family make ends meet. Only after she married did she publish Little Lord Fauntleroy that shot her into literary stardom.

On the surface, Frances' life was extremely successful: hosting regular literary salons in her home and travelling frequently between properties in the UK and America. But behind the colourful personal and social life, she was a complex and contradictory character. She lost both parents by her twenty-first birthday, Henry James called her ""the most heavenly of women"" although avoided her; prominent people admired her and there were many friendships as well as an ill-advised marriage to a much younger man that ended in heartache. Her success was punctuated by periods of depression, in one instance brought on by the tragic loss of her eldest son to consumption.

Ann Thwaite creates a sympathetic but balanced and eye-opening biography of the woman who has enchanted numerous generations of children.

By: Ann Thwaite
Imprint: Duckworth
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9780715654187
ISBN 10: 0715654187
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 06 August 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dr Ann Thwaite is a writer and occasional reviewer for publications such as Guardian, Telegraph and The Times. She was born in London and educated at Oxford. She has written five major, critically acclaimed biographies. Her biography AA Milne won the Whitbread Biography of the Year prize. Dr Thwaite is a member of the Royal Society of Authors, the Royal Over-Seas League, and the Children's Books History Society.

Reviews for Beyond the Secret Garden: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett (with a Foreword by Jacqueline Wilson)

'A fascinating and valuable book.' * Sunday Times * 'Ann Thwaite has admirably mapped out the complex and peripatetic story, attacking its problems with insight and diligence.' * Times Literary Supplement * 'Intelligent, moderate, thoughtful, well documented, well organised, and well written... a model of a literary biography.' * New York Review of Books *