Beyond the Secret Garden

Name: Beyond the Secret Garden
Brand: Allen & Unwin
SKU: 9780715654187
Price: 27.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett (with a Foreword by Jacqueline Wilson)

By Ann Thwaite

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3.54

( 57 ratings, 17 reviews)

Summary

Beyond the Secret Garden by Ann Thwaite delves into the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, the celebrated author best known for her children's classic. The biography explores Burnett's journey from poverty to literary acclaim, offering insight into her personal struggles and the inspirations behind her enduring works. It paints a vivid portrait of a woman whose life was as captivating as her stories.
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Format: Paperback / softback

$27⁹⁹

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Beyond the Secret Garden

$27⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This captivating biography may appeal to you if you are intrigued by the life and work of Frances Hodgson Burnett. It offers an insightful exploration of Burnett's fascinating journey, delving into the historical and cultural contexts that shaped her writing. If you appreciate literary biographies that blend personal and professional insights, this book could be a delightful addition to your reading list.

Beyond the Secret Garden

The definitive and revealing life story of the author of The Secret Garden, Ann Thwaite creates a sympathetic but balanced and eye-opening biography of Frances Hodgson Burnett who enchanted numerous generations of children.

Description

The definitive and revealing biography of the author of The Secret Garden.

Frances Hodgson Burnett's favourite theme in her 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 because of the financial problems caused by the cotton famine. From a young age, she published her stories to help the family make ends meet. Only after she married did she publish Little Lord Fauntleroy, which shot her into literary stardom.

On the surface, Frances' life was extremely successful: hosting regular literary salons in her home and travelling frequently between properties in the UK and America. But behind the colourful personal and social life, she was a complex and contradictory character. She lost both parents by her twenty-first birthday. Henry James called her "the most heavenly of women" although he avoided her; prominent people admired her, and there were many friendships, as well as an ill-advised marriage to a much younger man that ended in heartache. Her success was punctuated by periods of depression, in one instance brought on by the tragic loss of her eldest son to consumption.

Ann Thwaite creates a sympathetic but balanced and eye-opening biography of the woman who has enchanted numerous generations of children.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Beyond the Secret Garden by Ann Thwaite is lauded as a fascinating and valuable exploration by the Sunday Times. The Times Literary Supplement praises Thwaite's insightful and diligent mapping of the complex narrative, while the New York Review of Books commends the book for its intelligence and organisation, dubbing it a model of literary biography.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780715654187

Publisher: Duckworth Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 06 August 2020

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Duckworth

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 336

Collections

Ann Thwaite Biography & Memoir Education & Reference Musicians, Movie Stars & Creative Biographies Non-Fiction

About the Author

Ann Thwaite is a prize-winning biographer and children's writer. She was born in London in 1932, but her parents came from New Zealand and she spent the war years there, returning to finish her education at Queen Elizabeth's, Barnet and St Hilda's College, Oxford. For many years Ann wrote and reviewed children's books and ran a library at her home for local children, while working as a contributing editor for an American group of children's magazines. More recently, she was consultant for the film Goodbye Christopher Robin. Eventually released by Fox Searchlight in 2017, it was based on her biography of A. A. Milne. Ann was honoured by a fellowship from the University of Roehampton and a doctorate from the University of East Anglia. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has benefited as a writer from both Leverhulme and Churchill Fellowships.