Racketty-Packetty House and Other Stories

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Six heartwarming tales, including the title story, which concerns the fate of some shabby inhabitants of a castaway dollhouse; "Behind the White Brick," a fantasy about a hidden world in a chimney top; as well as "The Story of Prince Fairyfoot," "Sara Crewe," "Little Saint Elizabeth," and "The Proud Little Grain of Wheat."

Genres: Audiobook, Childrens, Short Stories

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Frances 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.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although these three stories are written with old-fashioned language (over 100 years old), they are sweet and funny and unexpectedly poignant. The original version of A Little Princess is here, as well as two other stories I'd never heard of before. The illustrations are so wonderful and whimsical, I want to share this book with my grandchildren. Recommended!

[Sheri Bauer]

On my "to read" list for a long time. I really enjoyed the reading.

[Sadie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good variety of short stories.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Racketty-Packetty House" - 3 stars
"Behind the White Brick" - 3 stars
"The Story of Prince Fairyfoot" - 2 stars
"Sara Crewe" - 4 stars
"Little Saint Elizabeth" - 2 stars
"The Proud Little Grain of Wheat" - 1 star

That averages out to 2 1/2 stars.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The reading -- particularly the accent work -- was top notch. However, the stories themselves were a mixed bag. They're short enough to be worth checking out by any fan of the writer, but the only one I'd wholeheartedly recommend is "My Robin".

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome but I wished it was longer

[Brigid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful short stories from the author of A Secret Garden. Fun to read, even if not aloud to my son (the darn 13-year-old won't sit still long enough).

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute kids book but not that exciting.