Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849 - 1924) was a British novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911). Frances Hodgson Burnett was born in Manchester, England, the daughter of a goldsmith. After the death of her father, the family emigrated to Knoxville (Tennessee) in the USA in 1865. There she began writing for American newspapers. In 1873 she married Dr. Swan Burnett, with whom she had two sons, Lionel (b. 1874) and Vivian (b. 1876). In 1890 her older son died, and in 1898 she divorced her husband. In February 1900, she married Stephen Townsend, who died only two years later. After 1901, Frances Hodgson Burnett lived on Long Island and in Bermuda. There she became more interested in Christianity, gardening, and spirituality. A few weeks before her 75th birthday, Burnett died in 1924.