???? The Author The Author Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Hodgson, born in Manchester (England) in 1849, emigrates to the U.S.A. with her family at the end of the American Civil War (1860-1865). She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. She comes from an English industrial city and Knoxville looks like1 a green paradise because it is in the American countryside. When her parents die, she starts writing stories to get money to live. She marries Swan Burnett when she is 23 and becomes a very famous writer. Her first success is That Lass O Lowrie s (1877), a book about a family who works in a mine2. Ten years later, her novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) becomes a classic for children: the book is very popular and a lot of mothers dress3 their sons like the hero of the story. Her public and private life is very busy: her plays, novels4 and stories are very popular; she divorces her first husband in 1898, re-marries in 1900 and divorces again two years later. After 1902, she divides her time between England and Long Island, New York. In her splendid English home she has a rose garden, where she writes her famous book, The Secret Garden (1912). It is a story of courage and friendship with a happy ending. Her novels also include The Little Princess (1905) and The Lost Prince (1915). She dies in 1924 in Long Island. Over forty books are published in her lifetime. 1. looks like: is similar to. 2. mine: a system of tunnels in the ground for the extraction of minerals by digging. 3. dress: to put clothes on. 4. novel: a long printed story about imaginary characters and events. 4