Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Manchester on 24 November 1849, the third child of Edwin and Eliza Hodgson. Her father, a successful ironmonger and silversmith, died in 1853. Her mother then raised their five children alone and tried to run the business though she eventually had to sell it. Because of financial difficulties and after several removals within the city of Manchester, the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in April 1865 to join Eliza Hodgson’s brother. They arrived shortly before the end of the Civil War. The family was still in a difficult financial situation, which was why Frances later that year opened a “Select Seminary for Young People”. She and her two sisters had attended a Select Seminary in England.
Shortly afterwards she became a professional writer. In
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Citation: Zirker, Angelika. "Frances Hodgson Burnett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 March 2009; last revised 18 August 2024. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=655, accessed 16 October 2024.]
