Frances Hodgson Burnett’s books are mentioned in the Chalet School books from time to time. Mary Lou and Fiona McDonald read A Secret Garden; while A Little Princess is read to Lower IIIa during a sewing lesson in Gerry goes to school.
FH Burnett was born in Manchester, England in 1949. Her father died five years later leaving her mother to raise five children on her own. Eleven years later, the family migrate to Knoxville, Tennessee in America and two years later, FH Burnett’s mother died leaving her with two younger siblings to care for. FH Burnett turned to writing to support the family and wrote mainly for magazines such as Godey’s Lady’s Book, Harper’s Bazaar amongst others. At the age of twenty-four she married Dr Swan Burnett and the pair lived between America and England at various times of their married life.
Her first novel The Lass of Lowrie’s was published in 1877 and she went on to write four more books and a play before gaining popularity with Little Lord Fauntleroy. The book went on to create a new stereotype with long fair curls and velvet suits being the image for rich kids.
FH Burnett also won a lawsuit in England for dramatic rights to her books which forever changed the copyright laws in England in 1911. Previously anyone could write a play based on a novel without the author’s permission, afet FH Burnett's l;awsuit, the law was changed to ensure, the author's permission had to be given first.
FH Burnett divorced her first husband in 1888 and remarried her manager in 1900, only to divorce him in 1902.
FH Burnett went on to write A Little Princess first published as Sara Crewe, The Secret Garden, The lost Prince and another four more books. FH Burnett returned to live in England in the mid-1890s but returned to the US in 1907 where she stayed. It was while she lived in England at Great Maytham Hall, that she discovered a secret garden.
After her son Lionel died in 1890, FH Burnett became involved in spiritualism which comforted in her grief. She also believed in Theosophy which has the maxim, people can heal themselves with positive thinking, an idea, she incorporated into The Secret Garden. FH Burnett died in 1924 in the US and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery with her son Vivian.
I will focus on the only two books mentioned in the Chalet School series, (but please feel free to mention any of the others). A Little Princess is one of the earliest boarding school books. Sara Crewe is sent to a boarding school, while her father returns to India to work in his mines, her father dies while the mines crash and Sara loses not only the only family she has, but also all her money. The Headmistress turns Sara into a servant and is quite nasty with her. We do have a contrast with EBD, where Juliet is left to the mercy of Madge Bettany during the first term of the Chalet School. Madge in contrast to Miss Minchin decide’s to keep Juliet on and train her as a student teacher. She continues to treat Juliet kindly, rather than become nasty as Juliet’s previous Headmistress had or Miss Minchin herself. We also have the adoption of Biddy, whom the Russell’s later offer to pay her University fees and there are countless children Joey adopts, with the same or similar disregard for the cost to herself.
The Secret Garden is a slightly different tale. Mary an orphan is sent to live with her Uncle in Yorkshire. She is a spoilt, cross only child who slowly changes under Dickon’s influence and later discovers the existence of her cousin. Much is made of the magic of the secret garden to make you well and positive thinking. There are some similarities with EBD’s the Chalet School where health is at a premium and the girls are expected to eat well, with plenty of milk, exercise and sleep, however, where FH Burnett stresses the magic of the garden or positive thinking and belief that one can get well, EBD stresses the importance of faith in God and prayer.
So what do people think of FH Burnett as a writer?
Had anyone not read her books before reading EBD and were so inspired to read FH Burnett’s books after seeing them mentioned in the Chalet School books?
What do people think of the various themes covered in their books?
Does anyone prefer one writer over the other in the way they deal with a particular theme?
Please feel free to discuss these points along with any others you can think of
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