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Last edited by Sascha
July 13, 2025 | History

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Hodgson Burnett was best known as an English playwright and author. Frances Eliza Hodgson was born on November 24, 1849, at Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England, to Eliza Boond and Edwin Hodgson. She was the middle child of five, with two older brothers and two younger sisters.

Frances grew up in a comfortable home. Mr. Hodgson sold brass goods to upper class households, and the family had a maid, a nurse-maid, and a horse and carriage. However, in the early 1850's when Frances was only three or four years old, her father died of a stroke, and the family was forced to sell their house and move. Her mother carried on the business, and Frances was often left in the care of her grandmother, who taught her to read. Her future as a writer might have begun here.

When she was about sixteen, the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee. From then until she was nineteen, Frances supported them by selling her stories to magazines.

In September 1873, she married Swan Burnett. The couple moved to Paris for two years and had there two sons. In 1892, following the death her son Lionel from tuberculosis, Frances suffered severe depression. In 1898, she divorced Swan Burnett and remarried two years later; this second marriage only lasted a year.

Frances settled in Long Island, New York, where she lived for the rest of her life. She died in 1924 and rests in Roslyn Cemetery in Greenvale, New York, next to her other son, Vivian.

English-American playwright and author (1849–1924)

Born November 24, 1849
Died October 29, 1924.

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English-American playwright and author (1849–1924)

Born November 24, 1849
Died October 29, 1924.

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July 13, 2025 Edited by Sascha Data added
March 17, 2025 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
March 17, 2025 Edited by Tom Morris merge authors
August 21, 2024 Edited by Drini merge authors
April 1, 2008 Created by an anonymous user initial import