Little Lord Fauntleroy (Puffin Classics) by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Book Reviews of Little Lord Fauntleroy (Puffin Classics)
Book Review: Classic Role for Shirley Temple
Summary: 3 Stars
This story is admittedly sentimental and even syrupy, but admirers of Frances Hodgeson Burnett won't care! If you've enjoyed The Little Princess and The Secret Garden, you surely will want to read her third famous children's classic. The seven-year-old American protagonist is simply too sweet and good-natured to be true; his widowed mother is a study in patient suffering. Suddenly informed that her son is the heir to an Earldom in England, the mother gives up her homeland to restore her son to his rightful legacy. But his crusty old grandfather
(who cast out his youngest son when he married a mere American) proves mean and selfish-universally hated by his tenants. Now this unexpected grandson may be his last chance--not only to continue the family name and honor, but more importantly, for the old man's personal growth.
It's a challenge for American readers to understand the dialogue which Burnett often presents in dialect, while ignoring the distinction between New Yorkese and British peasant slang. Neverthless, this book is a gently told tale which will touch those unjaded readers who remain. The underlying theme may be that of the restorative power of innocence.
Book Review: Truly outdated
Summary: 3 Stars
I generally lean toward old classics in selecting books to read to my precocious 6-yr old. This one is undoubtedly a classic, it is indeed very good literature, excellently written -- everything the other reviewers have said. Nevertheless, its story, its conflict, its central preoccupation revolves around a very British idea of class: one's "quality" as a person is determined by one's birth. This is antithetical to the very idea of America and will be much too hard to explain to a child. Yet if I wait until he is older, he will probably be turned off by the idealized, syrupy characterization.Book Review: the story of what happened to a little boy
Summary: 2 Stars
Little Lord Fauntleroy is a story about a little American boy, Cedric who suddenly finds himself the heir-apparent to a title in England. His grandfather, the present Lord Fauntleroy, (who originally disowned the boy's now-dead father for marrying his American mother) sends for the boy to live with him. His faultless mother of course agrees to let him take this opportunity, while she goes to live in a nearby cottage.Then a woman appears with a boy she claims to be the son of an older son, apparently displacing Cedric as heir. It is a testament to Little Lord Fauntleroy's sweetening effect that his grandfather unites with his mother to fight against this alternate claim (successfully, of course...this is no book for bittersweet endings--the good always triumph, the evil always meet they're downfall, and the good and the evil are always on opposite sides).
Enough sugar to gag a horse, but no story. From the start, the little boy is perfect...charitable, pretty, strong, and smart--but infinitely oblivious of others' defects. He does not grow or change. He does not wrestle with problems. He does not even realize there are problems. He is not a character--he's a pro-American fantasy.
The real protagonist is the present Lord, the boy's grandfather. His transition from conceited grump to true grandfather is mildly interesting. However, far too often Cedric's perfect little self takes center stage, constantly presenting himself to be admired by the other characters, who were not so fortunate as to be perfect or American.
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