Free download available at Project Gutenberg

The three week read and discussion of Emily Fox-Seton by Frances Hodgson Burnett begins Sunday, May 5, at the 19thCenturyLit group. Emily Fox-Seton includes The Making of a Marchioness and The Methods of Lady Walderhurst.

This book discussion can be joined at 19thCenturyLit - Literature of the 19th Century.

Discussion Schedule:
May 5 Part One (Chapters 1 - 6)
May 12 Part Two, Chapters 7 - 15
May 19 Part Two, Chapters 16 - 24


Both books, "The Making of a Marchioness" and "The Methods of Lady Walderhurst" are typical Edwardian's pieces of work where the heroine, a good, honest and hard-working woman, has a fairytale ending which is typical in the Burnett's books.

As very well pointed out by one of the members in the 19th Century Literature Yahoo Group, "the contrast between light and dark, comfort and poverty, was the dominant theme of her books."

I can feel some autobiographical hints during the narrative even if I didn't know so much about her life before reading these couple of books.

At Wikipedia, one can find a good biography of this author, namely Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Unexpected Life of the Author of "The Secret Garden" by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina

Another interesting book about this author which should be mentioned here is Waiting for the Party: The Life of Frances Hodgson Burnett by Ann Thwaite