Seven-year-old Cedric Errol lives with his mother in New York City and has a decidedly negative view of the British aristocracy. Little does he know, he is a part of that group.

When a lawyer arrives at their home, Cedric learns that due to the death of his uncle, he is now the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt and is to move to England to live with his grandfather. Gaining sudden wealth and moving into a castle might be exciting, but it also means living apart from his mother, whom his grandfather never approved of. And the earl is notorious for being a stingy and heartless leader.

Before long, Cedric's generous nature and open heart begin to change the whole earldom for the better. But his grandfather's character isn't the only challenge he'll face, and soon the new life Cedric has built in England is thrown into jeopardy.

4 ⭐ ( )

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1885, 1886) by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a beloved children's novel that made a huge impact on the 19th century public, shaping everything from boys' clothing fashions to copyright law. Cedric Errol is a generous, kind, and exemplary middle-class American boy who is suddenly found to be the heir of the Earl of Dorincourt. Saying loving goodbyes to his working-class friends, Cedric goes to England together with his mother to embrace his new fortune. His grandfather, the old earl, is a bitter old man ridden with gout and a foul temper, trusting no one. However the angelic boy elicits a profound transformation in the grandfather, which not only benefits the castle household but the whole populace of the earldom. If only the old man's heart would soften toward Cedric's estranged mother, the family would be healed at last. And when another potential heir to the earldom makes a claim, it seems that everything is lost.... But all things are possible through a child's innocent trust, true friendship, and unconditional love. ( )

Seven-year-old Cedric Errol lives with his mother in New York City and has a decidedly negative view of the British aristocracy. Little does he know, he is a part of that group.

When a lawyer arrives at their home, Cedric learns that due to the death of his uncle, he is now the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt and is to move to England to live with his grandfather. Gaining sudden wealth and moving into a castle might be exciting, but it also means living apart from his mother, whom his grandfather never approved of. And the earl is notorious for being a stingy and heartless leader.

Before long, Cedric's generous nature and open heart begin to change the whole earldom for the better. But his grandfather's character isn't the only challenge he'll face, and soon the new life Cedric has built in England is thrown into jeopardy.

With "The Secret Garden", this is perhaps one of Burnett's best known stories, helping to cement her reputation as a children's author.

This is a rather twee and sentimental kind of book - much more so than SG - where the blond, curly haired 7yo Cedric is identified as the new Lord Fauntleroy after the death of his father and his two uncles. His goodness, positive attitude, and ability to see the good in everyone turns his grandfather's head and heart, and turns the lives around of all around him.

It is, perhaps, just a tad too sickly for my liking, but is not a bad book for all that.

( )