Little Lord Fauntleroy
Little
Lord Fauntleroy is a novel by the English-American
writer Frances Hodgson Burnett, her first children's novel. It was published as a serial
in St. Nicholas Magazine from November 1885 to October 1886, then as a book by Scribner's
(the publisher of St. Nicholas) in 1886.[2] The illustrations by Reginald
B. Birch set fashion trends and the novel
set a precedent in copyright law
when Burnett won a lawsuit in 1888 against E. V. Seebohm over the rights to
theatrical adaptations of the work.[3]
Plot
In
a shabby New York City
side street in the mid-1880s, young Cedric Errol lives with his mother (known
only as Mrs. Errol or "Dearest") in genteel poverty after the death
of his father, Captain Cedric Errol. One day, they are visited by an English
lawyer named Havisham with a message from young Cedric's grandfather, the Earl
of Dorincourt, an unruly millionaire who despises the United
States and was very disappointed when his
youngest son married an American woman. With the deaths of his father's elder
brothers, Cedric has now inherited the title Lord Fauntleroy and is the heir to the earldom and a vast
estate. Cedric's grandfather wants him to live in England and be educated as an
English aristocrat.
He offers his son's widow a house and guaranteed income, but he refuses to have
anything to do with her, even after she declines his money.
However,
the Earl is impressed by the appearance and intelligence of his American
grandson and is charmed by his innocent nature. Cedric believes his grandfather
to be an honorable man and benefactor, and the Earl cannot disappoint him. The
Earl therefore becomes a benefactor to his tenants, to their delight, though he
takes care to let them know that their benefactor is the child, Lord Fauntleroy.
Meanwhile,
back in New York, a homeless bootblack named Dick Tipton tells Cedric's old friend Mr. Hobbs, a
New York City grocer, that a few years prior, after the death of his parents,
Dick's older brother Benjamin married an awful woman who got rid of their only
child together after he was born and then left. Benjamin moved to California to
open a cattle ranch while Dick ended up in the streets. At the same time, a
neglected pretender
to Cedric's inheritance appears in England, the pretender's mother claiming
that he is the offspring of the Earl's eldest son, Bevis. The claim is
investigated by Dick and Benjamin, who come to England and recognize the woman
as Benjamin's former wife. She flees, and the Tipton brothers and the
pretender, Benjamin's son, do not see her again. Afterward, Benjamin goes back
to his cattle ranch in California where he happily raises his son by himself.
The Earl is reconciled to his American daughter-in-law, realizing that she is
far superior to the impostor.
The
Earl planned to teach his grandson how to be an aristocrat. Instead, Cedric
teaches his grandfather that an
aristocrat should practice compassion towards those dependent on him. The Earl becomes the man Cedric always innocently believed
him to be. Cedric is happily reunited with his mother, and Mr. Hobbs, who
decides to stay to help look after Cedric.
Impact on fashion
The
Fauntleroy suit[4] (see also Buster
Brown suit), so well described by Burnett and
realised in Reginald Birch's detailed pen-and-ink drawings, created a fad for
formal dress for American middle-class children:
What
the Earl saw was a graceful, childish figure in a black velvet suit, with a
lace collar, and with lovelocks waving about the handsome, manly little face,
whose eyes met his with a look of innocent good-fellowship.
— Little Lord Fauntleroy
The
Fauntleroy suit appeared in Europe as well but nowhere was it as popular as in
America. The classic Fauntleroy suit was a velvet cut-away
jacket and matching knee pants, worn with
a fancy
blouse and a large lace or ruffled collar.
These suits appeared right after the publication of Burnett's story (1885) and
were a major fashion for boys until after the turn of the 20th century. Many
boys who did not wear an actual Fauntleroy suit wore suits with Fauntleroy
elements, such as a fancy blouse or floppy bow. Only a minority of boys wore ringlet
curls with these suits, but the photographic record confirms that many boys
did.[further explanation needed]
It
was most popular for boys about 3–8 years of age, but some older boys wore them
as well. It has been speculated that the popularity of the style encouraged
many mothers to breech their boys
earlier than before, and it was a factor in the decline of the fashion for
dressing small boys in dresses
and other skirted garments.[5] Clothing that Burnett popularised was modelled on the
costumes which she tailored herself for her two sons, Vivian and Lionel.[3]
Reception
Polly
Hovarth writes that Little Lord Fauntleroy "was the Harry
Potter of his time and Frances Hodgson
Burnett was as celebrated for creating him as J.
K. Rowling is for Potter." During the
serialisation in St. Nicholas magazine, readers looked forward to new
installments. The fashions in the book became popular with velvet Lord
Fauntleroy suits being sold, as well as other Fauntleroy merchandise such as
velvet collars, playing cards, and chocolates. During a period when sentimental
fiction was the norm, and in the United States the "rags to riches"
story popular, Little Lord Fauntleroy was a hit.[6]
Edith
Nesbit included in her own children's book
The Enchanted Castle (1907) a rather unflattering reference:
Gerald
could always make himself look interesting at a moment's notice (...) by
opening his grey eyes rather wide, allowing the corners of his mouth to droop,
and assuming a gentle, pleading expression, resembling that of the late little
Lord Fauntleroy who must, by the way, be quite old now, and an awful prig.
Adaptations
Stage
In
1888, after discovering her novel had been plagiarized for the stage, Burnett
successfully sued and then wrote her own theatrical adaptation of Little
Lord Fauntleroy. It opened May 14, 1888, at Terry's
Theatre in London, and was presented in the
English provinces, France, Boston and New York City.[7]
The
Broadway production of Burnett's play opened December 10, 1888, at the Broadway Theatre, New York City.[8][9] The original cast follows:
- Earl of Dorincourt – J. H. Gilmour
- Cedric Errol (Lord Fauntleroy) – Elsie Leslie and Tommy Russell
- Mr. Havisham, a Solicitor – F. F. Mackay
- Mr. Hobbs, a Grocer – George A. Parkhurst
- Dick, a Bootblack – Frank E. Lamb
- Higgins, a Farmer – John Swinburne
- Wilkins, a Groom – Alfred Klein
- Thomas, a Footman – John Sutherland
- James, a Servant – T. J. Plunkett
- Mrs. Errol ("Dearest") – Kathryn Kidder
- Minna – Alice Fischer
- Mary – Effie Germon
In
1994, an Australian open-air/site specific theatre production of Little Lord
Fauntleroy, adapted by Julia Britton and directed by Robert Chuter, was
presented in the historical gardens of the National Trust of Australia
(Victoria) property Rippon Lea.
Film and television
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1914), a British silent film, one of the last made in Kinemacolor, directed by F. Martin Thornton, starring Gerald Royston (Cedric); H. Agar Lyons (The Earl); Jane Wells (Dearest); Bernard Vaughan (Mr. Havisham); F. Tomkins (Mr. Hobbs); and Harry Edwards (Dick).[10]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (A Kis Lord) (1918), a Hungarian silent film, directed by Alexander Antalffy, starring Tibor Lubinszky (Cedric); Alexander Antalffy (The Earl); Giza Báthory (Dearest); József Hajdú (Mr. Havisham); Jenõ Horváth (Mr. Hobbs); Ernõ Kenessey (Dick).[11]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921), an American silent film, directed by Alfred E. Green and Jack Pickford, starring Mary Pickford (Cedric & Dearest); Claude Gillingwater (The Earl); Joseph J. Dowling (Mr. Havisham); James A. Marcus (Mr. Hobbs); Fred Malatesta (Dick).[12]
- L'ultimo Lord (1926), an Italian silent film, directed by Augusto Genina, starring Carmen Boni (Freddie). Based on L'ultimo Lord by Ugo Falena.[13]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936), arguably the best-known adaptation, directed by John Cromwell, starring Freddie Bartholomew (Cedric); C. Aubrey Smith (The Earl); Dolores Costello (Dearest); Henry Stephenson (Mr. Havisham); Guy Kibbee (Mr. Hobbs); Mickey Rooney (Dick).[14]
- Il ventesimo duca (1945), an Italian film, directed by Lucio De Caro, starring Paola Veneroni ("Freddie"). Based on L'ultimo Lord by Ugo Falena.[15]
- O Pequeno Lorde (1957), Brazilian TV movie, directed da Júlio Gouveia and Antonino Seabra, starring Rafael Neto (Cedric).
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1957), an American TV miniseries, starring Richard O'Sullivan (Cedric).[16]
- Il piccolo Lord (1960), an Italian TV miniseries (sceneggiato) aired on RAI, directed by Vittorio Brignole, starring Sandro Pistolini (Cedric); Michele Malaspina (The Earl); Andreina Paul (Dearest); Attilio Ortolani (Mr. Havisham); Giuseppe Mancini (Mr. Hobbs); Ermanno Anfossi (Dick).[17]
- Der kleine Lord (1962), a German TV film aired on Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), directed by Franz Josef Wild [de], starring Manfred Kunst (Cedric); Albrecht Schoenhals (The Earl); Gertrud Kückelmann (Dearest); Sigfrit Steiner (Mr. Havisham); Eric Pohlmann (Mr. Hobbs); Michael Ande.[18]
- Lille Lord Fauntleroy (1966), a Norwegian TV film, directed by Alfred Solaas, starring Gøsta Hagenlund (Cedric).[19]
- Il Piccolo Lord (1971), an Italian TV movie, directed by Luciano Emmer, starring Ellen and Alice Kessler, Johnny Dorelli, Dina Perbellini, and Alice Rossi.
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1976), a BBC TV miniseries, directed by Paul Annett, starring Glenn Anderson (Cedric); Paul Rogers (the Earl); Jennie Linden (Dearest); Preston Lockwood (Mr. Havisham); Ray Smith (Mr. Hobbs); Paul D'Amato (Dick).[20]
- As one installment in 1977 of the late 1970s children's television show Once Upon a Classic[21]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980), a popular adaptation, directed by Jack Gold, starring Ricky Schroder (Cedric); Alec Guinness (The Earl); Connie Booth (Dearest); Eric Porter (Mr. Havisham); Colin Blakely (Mr. Hobbs); and Rolf Saxon (Dick).[22] This film has become a Christmas classic in Germany.[23]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1988), a Japanese anime series, also known as Shōkōshi Cedie (小公子セディ Shōkōshi Sedi, trans. Little Prince Cedie), directed by Kōzō Kusuba, spanning 43 episodes (20–25-minute each per episode) based on the same novel. The anime has been translated in many languages, notably French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Tagalog, Polish and Arabic. In this adaptation (along with the Filipino film adaptation on which it was based), Mrs. Errol is named "Annie."
- Il Piccolo Lord/Der kleine Lord (1994), an Italian and German co–production TV movie, aired on RAI and ARD, directed by Gianfranco Albano, starring Francesco De Pasquale (Cedric) and Mario Adorf (The Earl).[24]
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1995), a BBC TV mini-series adaptation by Julian Fellowes, directed by Andrew Morgan, starring Michael Benz (Cedric) and George Baker (The Earl).
- Cedie: Ang Munting Prinsipe (Cedie: The Little Prince) (1996), a Filipino film adaptation, directed by Romy Suzara, starring Tom Taus.
- Radosti i pechali malenʹkogo lorda (Little lord's joy and sorrow) (2003), a Russian film, directed by Ivan Popov, starring Aleksey Vesyolkin (Cedric).
- Die kleine Lady [de] (2012), an Austrian TV movie aired on ZDF, directed by Gernot Roll, starring Philippa Schöne in the role of a little Countess.[25]
References
· "Little
Lord Fauntleroy". LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress
(lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
· · Joanne Shattock, ed.
The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature: Volume 4 1800–1900.
3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000, 1475.
· · Rutherford
· · "Historical
boys Clothing site section on Fauntleroy suits". Histclo.com. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
· · Hovarth,(2004)|,
xi–xiv
· · McCarthy, Tom
(November 1970). "The
Real Little Lord Fauntleroy".
American Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
· · Burnett, Frances
Hodgson (1913). Burnett,
Frances Hodgson Little Lord Fauntleroy: A Drama in Three Acts, 1889/1913. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
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