Beyond the Secret Garden: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett

by Ann Thwaite

Most people have heard of Little Lord Fauntlero y, and of The Secret Garden . Yet few people realize that the same woman wrote both books, 25 years apart, and was considered, along with Henry James, one of the leading writers in America on the strength of the adult novels which made her name in the 1870s and 1880s. Frances Hodgson Burnett's favourite theme in 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 at the close of the Civil War. On the surface, her life was extremely successful. She played the roles of Famous Writer and Fairy Godmother with enthusiasm, but happiness eluded her. She was always waiting for the party, but it went on in other rooms.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Audiobook, The United States Of America

366 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2014

About the author

Ann Thwaite is a British writer who is the author of five major biographies. AA Milne: His Life was the Whitbread Biography of the Year, 1990. Edmund Gosse: A Literary Landscape (Duff Cooper Prize, 1985) was described by John Carey as "magnificent - one of the finest literary biographies of our time". Glimpses of the Wonderful about the life of Edmund Gosse's father, Philip Henry Gosse, was picked out by D.J. Taylor in The Independent as one of the "Ten Best Biographies" ever. Her biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett was originally published as Waiting for the Party (1974) and reissued in 2020 with the title Beyond the Secret Garden, with a foreword by Jacqueline Wilson. Emily Tennyson, The Poet's Wife (1996) was reissued by Faber Finds for the Tennyson bicentenary in 2009.

Reviews

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

I had previously read her A.A. Milne. His life, and really enjoyed it and The Secret Garden was one of my favourite books as a child and I reread it many times, so I looked forward to this one. There isn't much about The Secret Garden in this, (it's beyond, not about). The first half flew by and was really interesting, but the second half dragged a little. Much more about copywrite laws and publishing, but I learned a lot about her life I hadn't known previously; I had no idea how many times she went back and forth between England and America, I also hadn't realised just how much she's written This has made me want to re-read those childhood favourites and read more of her adult novels, particularly The Shuttle.

*Many thanks to the published and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Sher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sympathetic but balanced biography about the author who wrote _The Secret Garden_ and _The Little Princess_. For fans the details of Frances Hodgson Burnett's personal life may be surprising. Quite a lot is learned about early 20th C publishing challenges faced by American authors, and also one gets a sense for how Children's literature as a separate genre evolved. Perhaps we have lost something today by these fine contemporary works of children's literature being pigeon holed in the now quite separate genre. In Burnett's day--everyone read the current children's favorites. Her novel _Little Lord Fauntleroy_ was as popular as our current day _Harry Potter_ series. Particularly of value if you enjoyed Burnett's work.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Garden" is one of my most beloved books so when I saw this title by Ann Thwaite my heart rejoiced! Frances Hodgson Burnett was a remarkable person and author, so fascinating to read about from her first memory as a young child to her last days. She drew from both imagination and real life experiences for her creatively beautiful stories. She knew poverty and luxury and lived "the refusal to be overpowered by experience".

I really liked the mentions of other authors of the time including her friend Henry James, flamboyant Oscar Wilde and media's comparisons with Elizabeth Gaskell. "Little Lord Fauntleroy" was more successful than I realized. This book included so much new-to-me information such as her hand in the Copyright Act, relationships, personal family stories and travel. Many of her characters were based on those around her.

The author used a personal tone which I appreciate. The sheer number of poignant and touching letters exchanged between Hodgson Burnett and her family members is staggering...it's a privilege to be privy to them.

I only wish there was more information on the writing of The Secret Garden, though the title does mention "beyond".

This book will be a treasure to those who cherish the works of witty and exceptionally intelligent Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Many thanks to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for the e-book!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this book - something I rarely do - as no library in my area had a copy. The Secret Garden is my favorite book and I was eager to read any background on its author and the story. I was disappointed...while interesting, it was way too detailed in every aspect of Mrs. Burnett's life. Her early years were interesting, but as the book went on it became tiresome - and there was not a lot or many pages about The Secret Garden.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Competent, thorough, well-researched and balanced – an enjoyable and illuminating biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Originally published in 2007 and now reissued, it may be that further material has become available in the meantime, but that aside this is a must-read for anyone interested in Burnett’s life and work.

[Kallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fine biography, but maybe every author doesn't live a life that creates a fascinating story. I love the Secret Garden, so was curious about the life of the author. I'd say this was a pretty average life.

[Chantelle Hazelden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Garden was one of my all time favourite books so when I saw this book being re-released I was eager to read more about the author behind the stories.

This is a woman that knew hardship, worked hard for what she got and I for one am rather pleased that she didn't give up on her dreams.

Ann Thwaite does a fantastic job of describing her life, the ups and the downs.

You don't just learn about Frances, you gain knowledge on a history that perhaps would have remained unknown otherwise.

[Irene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett. Her early life in Manchester was far more interesting than later when she went to America and her writing career took off. I wasn’t in the least interested in any of the commercial aspects of her work and consequently found it boring, repetitive and over long. Frances herself was a fascinating, many faceted person even when she was a child and was ahead of her times with her enlightened views. As for The Secret Garden, not much was said about that! I was given this ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Paws with a Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

An objective, factual and well paced biography about Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of one of my favourite books, The Secret Garden.

I felt though, that to remain objective, Thwaite compromised on some of the detail of the magic behind Hodgson Burnett’s writing. Frances Hodgson Burnett comes across as a lady who above all wanted fairness, happiness and justice in the world, and when she realised it couldn’t be achieved wrote it into her novels instead. She wrote in a letter to her son, Vivian ‘I have tried to write more happiness into the world’

The book contextualises the life and times of Hodgson Burnett, which was fascinating, especially to see a life of extravagance from such humble beginnings. There was a little too much detail though for me, with minute detail around the transactions and commercials around her novels, rather than the writing itself.

I hadn’t realised quite how well known she and her novels were at the time of writing, with Little Lord Fauntleroy the Harry Potter of its day. However, as interesting as I found this, I did feel it dominated far more of the biography than the title would suggest, with very little reference to The Secret Garden.

Thank you to Netgalley and Duckworth Books for this free e-copy in exchange for an honest review. Overall, an insightful and fascinating read, but one to enter with the expectation that it’s not all flowers and gardens, but a lot more commercial and business-like.

[Rosalind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the Secret Garden.

I'm not much into reading Biographies but this appealed, not only as there is a new release of a film The Secret Garden, but it was one of my favourite books as a child, but I was disappointed to find so little written about The Secret Garden. I did see that this was originally published as Waiting for the Party in 1974 and updated to coincide with the new film.

It was fascinating to read about how she dealt with publishers on both sides of the Atlantic and how copyright was a huge problem. It was also interesting to see how children's literature evolved as it's own genre, before most of these books were aimed at adults to be read to children. Certainly the language of a lot of books I read as a child, Black Beauty and What Katy Did, have much more of an adult language to them than the likes of Enid Blyton.

At times I felt the book a little dry and too detailed and almost confusing.

An amazing amount of travel by someone in those days, very driven almost to the point of manic. No wonder that she and Swan separated. So sad that she lost one son and Vivian died relatively young at 61. She at least maintained good relations with him and her two sisters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Pulisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very thorough biography. i did not realize The Secret Garden was written around 2015, one of her last books. The Lost Prince was another one. I never read Little Lord Fontleroy that was hugely popular. I picked it up and think, "This is kind of syrupy and frankly, dated."

An interesting tidbit was that she crossed the Atlantic (by boat) over 30 times in her life! She loved to travel. She had homes in England and also in the US. She was born in England. When she was over 50 she became an American citizen.

She lived separately from her first husband Swan Burnett for many years. I think the boys were like 8 and 9 when she started her independent life. She lived on the proceeds from all her novels, articles and plays. She finally divorced Burnett.Then, strangely married her long time companion Stephen Townsend, apparently a handsome man, younger than Francis. That was a disaster, oddly, after many years that he had been around.

Biographies are of great interest to me. I stumbled upon this one and needed a "listen to fall asleep" book.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-edited but written in 1974 so rather old fashioned in what the author focuses on. Other reviewers mostly say "Competent, thorough, well-researched and balanced" but I'm not sure about the balance. Maybe I'd prefer a less balanced book, or a book that focuses more on her family and early years and a lot less on the details of publishing, sundry letters and the detail of houses and travels and such. Frances Hodgson was fifteen when she left Manchester - which is a thoroughly interesting place to have your roots. Shame that only a brief 32 pages is spent there (out of 310) - and focused on detail with no time for exploration.

Will I take the plunge and try one of the adult novels, having only read 'The Little Princess' and 'The Secret Garden'? At least this book has brought them to my attention. I'll try the library....

[Rowena Andrews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a beautifully written biography, that offered and insightful and fascinating look into the life and times of Frances Hodgson Burnett. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but did feel that it focused a little too much of the details and being completely objective, leaning towards the technical/commercial side of her life as published writer, rather than the writing, and the magic that she tried to bring into the world as an author. There was also not as much reference to The Secret Garden as you would expect from the title of this book, which was the main reason I had been drawn to this book. However, I still enjoyed it and found it offered an excellent exploration of her life and work and would recommend to anyone who is a fan of Hodgson Burnett.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting biography on the author of the Secret Garden. Didn't know much about Frances Hodgson Burnett besides that work, and that one mainly from movies. I do like the nuances of the story though, and was curious to learn more about the author. She had quite an active life, both in her social and her writing world. It is ironic that her most well known story today was not such a big hit at the time. In fact, in her obit it wasn't even mentioned. Interesting to read about the other authors at the time, and this discussion of the book world. Makes me want to read more by her, and others. The book does get a bit heavy at times, but easy enough to skim a bit. Would highly recommend this book, especially if you want to learn more about that time that influenced these stories.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography of Francis Burnett. A bit of a tragic life. Born in England and living in Tennessee in a poor family she began to write stories for magazines to support her family. Much to uncover in this book of unhappy marriages, the death of her son and of course, her most famous book of the time - Little Lord Fauntleroy
I did find the book interesting, especially at the beginning but it did tend to slow down a bit.

[Brown Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable and interesting read. I had not linked Little lord Fauntleroy and The little princess and The secret garden to the same person, for one thing. Said person absolutely fascinating character, and it made me want to read (and reread) every single book she's written.

[MaryBeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free advance digital review copy from Duckworth Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

If, like author Ann Thwaite, you read and re-read The Secret Garden as a child, then you'll also be captivated by Beyond the Secret Garden, Thwaite's biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett, originally published in 1974, and newly reissued in 2020. I was fascinated to learn that Burnett and her family relocated from England to Tennessee, just after the Civil War, when she was a teenager and that her original audience included adults, as "children's literature" was not yet considered a distinct category. Drawing on sources such as Burnett's unpublished letters (many of which are excerpted in the book), and material shared by Burnett's family, Thwaite recounts how Burnett established her writing career, how the various places she lived inspired her stories, and how despite, or perhaps because of challenging personal circumstances, she "tried to write more happiness into the world."