Little Lord Fauntleroy

First edition cover
Author	Frances Hodgson Burnett
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Children's novel
Publisher	St. Nicholas Magazine
Publication date	1885 (in serial form) & 1886 (in single book)
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA

Little Lord Fauntleroy is a sentimental children's novel by American (English-born) author Frances Hodgson Burnett, serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine in 1885. It was a runaway hit for the magazine and was separately published in 1886. The book was a commercial success for its author, and its illustrations by Reginal Birch set fashion trends. Little Lord Fauntleroy also set a precedent in copyright law in 1888 when its author won a lawsuit over the rights to theatrical adaptations of the work. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Burnetts blue plaque in central London Frances Hodgson Burnett, (November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924) was an English–American playwright and author. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Jane Frank: illustration from Thomas Yoseloffs The Further Adventures of Till Eulenspiegel (1957). ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... The St. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... “ISBN” redirects here. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Burnetts blue plaque in central London Frances Hodgson Burnett, (November 24, 1849 - October 29, 1924) was an English–American playwright and author. ... The St. ... The copyright symbol is used to give notice that a work is covered by copyright. ...

Plot introduction

The story concerns an American boy named Cedric, who at an early age finds that he is the sole heir to a British earldom and leaves New York to take up residence in his ancestral castle, where, after some initial resistance, he is joined by his middle-class mother, "Dearest", the widow of the late heir. His grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, intends to teach the boy to become an aristocrat, but Cedric inadvertently teaches his grandfather compassion and social justice and the artless simplicity and motherly love of Dearest warms his heart. An Earl as a member of the British peerage ranks below a Marquess and above a Viscount. ... For other uses, see Castle (disambiguation). ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Social justice refers to the concept of an unjust society that refers to more than just the administration of laws. ...

Impact on fashion

The Fauntleroy suit, so well-described by Burnett and realized in Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings, created a major fad for formal dress for American middle-class children:

"What the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face, whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship." (Little Lord Fauntleroy)

Gainsborough's Blue Boy, 1770

The style was modelled upon the so-called "Van Dyke", a standardized fancy dress of the 18th century that was loosely based on children's costume in court circles of Charles I. Thomas Gainsborough's "fancy picture" The Blue Boy^[1]epitomizes the "Van Dyke". Until the onset of Romanticism towards the end of the 18th century, small children had been dressed as miniature versions of their elders. Clothing Burnett popularized was modeled on the costumes she tailored herself for her two sons, Vivian and Lionel. Download high resolution version (1576x2375, 261 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1576x2375, 261 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, King of Scotland and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. ... Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was one of the most famous portrait and landscape painters of 18th century Britain. ... The Blue Boy (c. ... Romantics redirects here. ...

In the generation before World War I, when all boys under the age of ten were in short pants, under the influence of Birch's illustrations for Little Lord Fauntleroy many middle-class American boys were dressed in velvet suits with lace collars and sashes and short knee-pants, and to have their hair curled into long ringlets like Cedric, a mode that was considered aristocratic. (Upper-class American boys were in school uniforms modelled on British ones; the upper-class "fancy dress" counterpart of the Fauntleroy suit was a sailor suit with short pants.) After revivals of the fad connected with Mary Pickford's film and the 1936 classic with Freddie Bartholomew, the onset of World War II consigned such outfits to attics. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

There have been several movie versions of the book produced throughout the years:

• 1914 [1]
• 1921 [2] (starring Mary Pickford)
• 1936 [3] (with a stellar cast including Freddie Bartholomew, Dolores Costello, Mickey Rooney and C. Aubrey Smith as the Earl of Dorincourt)
• 1976 [4] (made for TV)
• 1980 [5] (made for TV) starring Ricky Schroder, Connie Booth, Eric Porter, Patrick Stewart and Sir Alec Guinness as the Earl
• 1988 (Japanese anime featuring 43 episodes called "Shoukoushi Cedie")
• 1995 [6] (TV miniseries)starring Michael Benz and George Baker as the Lord
• 1996 [7] Filipino Version (starring Tom Taus as Cedie and Ronaldo Valdez as Earl of Dorincourt)
• 2003 [8] (Radosti i pechali malen'kogo lorda, Russian version)

Mary Pickford (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979) was an Oscar-winning Canadian motion picture star and co-founder of United Artists in 1919. ... promotional photo for Captains Courageous (1937) Freddie Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992) was a British child actor, director and producer popular in 1930s Hollywood films. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Actor Mickey Rooney speaks at the Pentagon in 2000 during a ceremony honoring the USO. Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule, Jr. ... Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (known as Sir Aubrey Smith) (21 July 1863-20 December 1948) was an English cricketer and actor. ... Richard Rick Schroder, (born, April 13, 1970, in Staten Island, New York, USA) is an American actor who began his career as a child actor (then credited as Ricky Schroder). ... Constance Booth (born 1944) is an American writer and actress best known for her appearances on British television, and particularly for her work with John Cleese. ... Eric Porter as Professor Moriarty in Granada Televisions The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1985) Eric Porter (April 8, 1928 - May 15, 1995) was a distinguished English actor who appeared on stage as well as in cinema and television. ... Patrick Stewart OBE (born July 13, 1940) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated English film, television and stage actor. ... The Swan Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE (April 2, 1914 - August 5, 2000) was a British actor who became one of the most versatile and best loved performers of his generation. ... “Animé” redirects here. ... Shoukoushi Cedie (小公子セディ , Little Prince Cedie) is a Japanese anime series produced by Nippon Animation in 1988 and was broadcasted on the World Masterpiece Theater, an animation staple that showcased each year an animated version of a different classical book or story. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. (May 2007)

• Little Lord Fauntleroy was also Jackie Kennedy's favorite book when she was a child.

• Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

• The film has become a Christmas classic on German TV; it is shown (almost) every year and attracts millions of viewers every time.

• Part of the filming for Little Lord Fauntleroy was recorded on location at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire, UK.

• In one episode, Dog the Bounty Hunter (of US TV's A&E adventure series of the same name) reads this book to a runaway Foxy Boxer (because she has forgot that he is or was her boyfriend.)

• "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is often used as a term of derision by characters in Richmal Crompton's William books. (e.g. "Yah! Yah! Yah!" shouted Hubert. "Little Lord Fauntleroy!")

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... First official White House portrait. ... For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Child (disambiguation). ... Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions. ... Belvoir Castle in the late 19th century. ... Richmal Crompton Lamburn (1890–1969) Richmal Crompton Lamburn (November 15, 1890–January 11, 1969) was a British writer, most famous for her Just William short stories. ... // See William (name) for information about the name. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ Now at the Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino, California.

On the 14th of January 2007 TV and Radio presenter and comedian Russell Brand read this story for Rob Da Bank's experimental and left field show on BBC Radio 1 for his Book at Bedtime feature.

External links

• HTML e-text (Page by Page Books)
• Little Lord Fauntleroy, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) at the Internet Archive
• Frances Hodgson Burnett