Frances Hodgson Burnett was a British-American playwright and novelist. She was born in England and later moved to the United States. Her first successful children’s publication was Little Lord Fauntleroy, which was serialized in a magazine. Her other books Little Princess and The Secret Garden were very successful. Burnett wrote The Secret Garden when she lived in England. Her own expansive garden is believed to have inspired the book’s garden setting. The novel was first serialized in The American Magazine and appeared in the book form in 1911. It was eventually adapted as a play and a film. Burnett also wrote plays and adult fiction. Her play Esmeralda was a runaway success in Broadway.