Little Lord Fauntleroy

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1886 story opens on a modest New York street, where a warm-hearted boy named Cedric Errol lives with his widowed American mother. Word arrives that he is heir to a British earldom, and Cedric is sent to England to live with his grandfather, a proud old aristocrat who has nothing but scorn for Americans. The boy meets the earl expecting kindness, and his stubborn faith in the old man’s good nature slowly wears down years of bitterness. Then a woman appears claiming her own son is the rightful heir, and the family’s future hangs on the outcome. Burnett writes with real tenderness about class, prejudice, and the softening power of affection. A free PDF and EPUB edition is available.