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A review by d_night
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5.0
Very sweet book. I am totally in love with Cedric and his mother. It is such a cleverly written children’s book. It’s hard to find this quality of book these days written for kids. Modern children’s literature spends time demoralizing family bonds and making parents look incompetent as upposed to building them, as seen it this story. Wonderfully done. Frances Hodgson Burnett is truly a classic author. So far I haven't read a book written by her that wasn't charming, compelling, and timeless.
Would easily read again, and definitely would read to children with no hesitation at all.
Suspenseful where it needed to be without being too much to handle.
Now to talk about my least, and really only disliked, part of the book.
I was not a huge fan of the first bit of the introduction by John Boyne that was in the addition of my copy. His downplay of Cedric and up play of the Earl in the first 2pgs, considering everything that is quickly known about both characters, is shallow at best. We’ve all been called cute pet names by our parents and the style of dress and behavior of Cedric is 100% normal for the period. His clothing was what was considered fashionable for children so he wouldn’t have felt stupid or looked so, and there was nothing wrong with him being caring and considerate toward other children. There are good winners and good losers just as there are bad winners and bad losers.
The Earl was not a benevolent man accepting the child of his son into his house from the kindness of his own heart, while offering him the world at the same time. He was a manipulative old man trying to buy his grandson’s love and loyalty with all the hatred in his heart for him. He wanted to tear him away from his loving mother because he hated Americans and despised the fact that his youngest son would stoop to marrying her. The soft benevolent side of him only developed into something true and wonderful when Cedric changed the old man, and the old man only opened up to him at first because he found him a beautiful and charming child, not the ugly, ragamuffin, American, brat he thought he would be. Not a fan of this part of the introduction, it blighted the whole rest of what he was trying to express in presenting this book to me as a reader. Boyne’s attempt at starting with a charming air failed thoroughly. This was literally the worst part of the entire book. Not all books need introductions from best selling authors.
Would easily read again, and definitely would read to children with no hesitation at all.
Suspenseful where it needed to be without being too much to handle.
Now to talk about my least, and really only disliked, part of the book.
I was not a huge fan of the first bit of the introduction by John Boyne that was in the addition of my copy. His downplay of Cedric and up play of the Earl in the first 2pgs, considering everything that is quickly known about both characters, is shallow at best. We’ve all been called cute pet names by our parents and the style of dress and behavior of Cedric is 100% normal for the period. His clothing was what was considered fashionable for children so he wouldn’t have felt stupid or looked so, and there was nothing wrong with him being caring and considerate toward other children. There are good winners and good losers just as there are bad winners and bad losers.
The Earl was not a benevolent man accepting the child of his son into his house from the kindness of his own heart, while offering him the world at the same time. He was a manipulative old man trying to buy his grandson’s love and loyalty with all the hatred in his heart for him. He wanted to tear him away from his loving mother because he hated Americans and despised the fact that his youngest son would stoop to marrying her. The soft benevolent side of him only developed into something true and wonderful when Cedric changed the old man, and the old man only opened up to him at first because he found him a beautiful and charming child, not the ugly, ragamuffin, American, brat he thought he would be. Not a fan of this part of the introduction, it blighted the whole rest of what he was trying to express in presenting this book to me as a reader. Boyne’s attempt at starting with a charming air failed thoroughly. This was literally the worst part of the entire book. Not all books need introductions from best selling authors.