TUESDAY BOOK CLUB......A LITTLE PRINCESS BY FRANCIS HODGSON BURNETT.
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Hey there
Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend
an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky
and wondrous. I'm Mama Ogre and I have no idea what I'm doing.
As you should know Tuesdays is Book Club day were we
talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Today's
blog is on the book Princess by Francis Hodgson Burnett
A little
Princess was published in full by Charles Scribner's sons in
September of 1905 after being a serialisation in St. Nicholas
Magazine in 1887 and being a novella in 1888. The book was named one
of the Teachers top books for children in 2007 and in 2012 was ranked
56th in the School Library Journal survey. The story
follows Sara Crewe a wealthy heiress being sent off to boarding
school in England. Despite being wealthy Sara isn't snobbish and rude
but polite, clever and generous befriending several other students
and the scullery maid Becky. Sara goes from privilege to a pauper
after her fathers scheme with is friend over a diamond mine
supposedly fails. After spending a few years working hard at the
school she once attended Sara is found by her fathers friend and
returned to privilege after finding out the diamond mines actually
worked.
There are
six film adaptions having been released in 1917, 1939, two in 1995
(One version being Filipino) with the most recent being a Russian
film released in 1997. the most well known being the 1995 version
being directed by Alfonso Cuaron. There have been seven TV shows
based on A Little Princess with the 1973 and 1986 (Maureen Lipton was
Miss Minchin) versions being particularly faithful to the books, the
1985, 2006 and 2009 versions were various Japanese anime and another
Filipino remake happened in 2007. an episode of Veggietales in 2012
was another version of A little Princess. From 2002 to 2014 there
have been several musical adaptions of a little princess as well.
Francis
Eliza Hodgson Burnett was born in England on the 24th
November 1849 in Cheetham, Manchester, England. When her father died
in 1852 her family fell on hard times and Francis was looked after by
her grandmother who fuelled her love of reading whilst her mother
dealt with the family finances. The family eventually emigrated to
the states in 1865 but remained somewhat poor thanks to the end of
the American Civil war. Francis started writing in fever trying to
help her family get out of the financial hole they were in and did
so with her first story being published in the Godey's Lady's book in
1868 eventually being published regularly in its pages alongside
Scribner's Monthly, Peterson's Magazine and Harper's Bazaar.
In 1872
Francis agreed to and married family friend Swan Burnett. She
continued to write which supported them as they moved to Paris to
allow Swan to train as an eye and ear doctor. Francis economised by
making clothes for both their sons and for herself. The family
returned to the US a few years later where swan managed to set up a
doctoring business despite being in debt. For several years
afterwards Francis wrote several short stories which were
continuously published, Francis eventually turned to children's
novels after a meeting with Mary Mapes Dodge the editor of children's
magazine St Nicholas. In 1884 Francis set to work on Little Lord
Fauntleroy which was serialised in 1885 and published in book form in
1886.
In 1887
Francis returned to England for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee which
triggered yearly transatlantic trips between the US and England with
her sons. She had fallen ill during this time and had spent time
confined to bed, she did however managed to write both The Fortunes
of Phillipa Fairfax (only published in the UK) and Sara Crewe or what
happened at Miss Minchin's which was rewritten as A Little Princess.
In December 1890 Francis and Swans eldest son Lionel died of
consumption which spurred his mother into a depression and turn away
form the Protestant faith and embrace spiritualism.
In 1898
After their youngest son Vivian finished school, Francis and Swan had
divorced (though they had begun to drift apart and were living
separate lives several years earlier) and two years later Francis had
moved back to England and lived at Great Maytham Hall and married
Stephan Townsend, which proved to be a terrible marriage and it ended
in 1902. In 1907 Francis returned to the states and spent the next
seventeen years in Plandome manor writing several more stories and
editing for the Children's Magazine upon the insistence of her Son
Vivian. Francis died on October 29th 1924 at the age of
72, she's buried in Roslyn Cemetery and her son Vivian is burred
nearby having died in 1937.
I knew of
the book as a child but didn't read it until I was a teenager, by
then I did know of and had seen the 1995 movie directed by Alfonso
Cuaron. The books theme of rising above and succeeding in the face of
terrible times is a good thing to reed about. I definitely recommend
the book to children and teenagers alike and I give it 9/10.
A Little
Princess can be bought by any reputable bookstore/booksellers.
WEBSITE
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
And there
you have it a great book for all the ages. So we'll be leaving this
here for today please leave a comment, share with others if you want
or not Friday is random blog day and remember keep it sensible in the
comments all abuse will be tracked and reported to the appropriate
people.
THIS IS
THE BANDERSNATCH, I'M MAMA OGRE AND REMEMBER STAY WEIRD, STAY WACKY,
STAY WONDEROUS AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON...
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