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The Troubles of Queen Silver-Bell As Told to Queen Crosspatch
Two short stories. In the first Queen Silver-Bell loses her temper and becomes Queen Crosspatch. In the second a little girl is changed into a rook to hatch abandoned eggs.
68 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 1992
129 people want to read
About the author
Frances Hodgson Burnett
1,507 books5,013 followersFrances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).
Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England. After her father died in 1853, when Frances was 4 years old, the family fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee. Frances began her writing career there at age 19 to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines. In 1870, her mother died. In Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1873 she married Swan M. Burnett, who became a medical doctor. Their first son Lionel was born a year later. The Burnetts lived for two years in Paris, where their second son Vivian was born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington, D.C. Burnett then began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.
Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently and in the 1890s bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden. Her elder son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898, married Stephen Townesend in 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she settled in Nassau County, New York, where she died in 1924 and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh was erected in her honor in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. The statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon.
Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England. After her father died in 1853, when Frances was 4 years old, the family fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee. Frances began her writing career there at age 19 to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines. In 1870, her mother died. In Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1873 she married Swan M. Burnett, who became a medical doctor. Their first son Lionel was born a year later. The Burnetts lived for two years in Paris, where their second son Vivian was born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington, D.C. Burnett then began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.
Beginning in the 1880s, Burnett began to travel to England frequently and in the 1890s bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden. Her elder son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1890, which caused a relapse of the depression she had struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898, married Stephen Townesend in 1900, and divorced him in 1902. A few years later she settled in Nassau County, New York, where she died in 1924 and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
In 1936, a memorial sculpture by Bessie Potter Vonnoh was erected in her honor in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. The statue depicts her two famous Secret Garden characters, Mary and Dickon.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 30, 2008
This little book was given to my mother by her mother June 23, 1917. Her 6th birthday. My own copy is titled The Troubles of Queen Silver-Bell, As told by Queen Crosspatch. The illustrations I have are by Harrison Cady and quite wonderful. Here it is some 91 years later on my desk waiting to tell me a story.
January 21, 2025
By the author of The Secret Garden , "Queen Silver-Bells" is the first short story in the "Queen Cross-Patch series. The narrative is two-fold: Queen Silver-bells is a a fairy queen who loses her temper, and as a story-within-the-story she tells a fairy tale, "How Winnie Hatched the Little Rooks," about a little girl, who with the help of fairies, hatches a nest of rooks. I picked this up because Queen Silver Bells was referenced in another novel I'm reading, and I wanted to be able to pick up on the literary allusions therein. I enjoyed the Queen Cross Patch prelude better than the fairy's story. which was was ok. The black and white line illustrations are cute. I expect over time that I will continue reading the other stories, and also explore some more of Burnett's lesser known works.
July 28, 2018
Another couple of fun Queen Silver-bell stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews