The Little Lord (novel)

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Viktor Angerer : Rosa Albach-Retty in Burnett's Little Lord (photo undated, before 1894)

The Little Lord ( English original title: Little Lord Fauntleroy ) is a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett . After its first edition in 1886, it became very successful as a children's book in many languages ​​and has been filmed several times. The book was a success for the author too. She also made legal history when she first successfully sued for the performance rights for this work in a precedent in England in 1888 .

action

Cedric Errol, a young boy from New York in the USA , whose environment strictly rejects the monarchy , is the last remaining successor of his cold-hearted English grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt , despite the improper marriage of his deceased father, the earl's youngest son taken in and raised for the title of count . His mother, an American, is banned from entering the earl's property due to prejudice against America and class.

The little lord causes his grandfather, who is gradually becoming more accessible due to the open-hearted and lovable boy, to repair the poor area of ​​the village (where his tenants live). Cedric takes care of the neglected, as does his mother, who lives in the village not far from the castle, but whom he can visit at will. For reasons of conscience, she does not accept the earl's maintenance and passes it on to the poor.

In the end, Cedric, who now bears the title ( little ) "Lord Fauntleroy", manages to get his grandfather to show love and generosity and to accept his mother. A role here is played by the fact that a cheater is now trying to get her son to be the rightful heir of the title, and it becomes clear to the Earl that his daughter-in-law - contrary to his original prejudices - is a lovable woman with high character traits. The impostor Minna is exposed with the help of Cedric's old friends from America, and the story ends with a joint party at Dorincourt Castle, with which Cedric's eighth birthday is celebrated. Two of the friends from the past stay in England and become supporters of the monarchy.

Reception in German-speaking countries

To date, more than thirty editions have appeared in German, the difference being in the translation, editing and / or illustration. The modern translations in German are almost all shortened, often by a fifth, in order to make the book readable for today's children.

The 1980 film adaptation of the same name with Ricky Schroder as little Lord Fauntleroy, Alec Guinness as Earl of Dorincourt, Connie Booth as Cedric's mother and Eric Porter as Mr. Havisham has become a classic that has been broadcast every Christmas on German television since 1982 becomes. Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire , England, was used as the location .

The work was produced, broadcast and / or published several times as a radio play.

The composer Günter Edin brought out the Little Lord as a musical in 2003, the lyrics were written by Gabriele Misch . In 2007 Konstantin Wecker and Christian Berg also adapted the material as a musical for the stage. On December 4, 2007, her musical premiered at the Deutsches Theater in Munich . Barbara Obermeier plays the main role of little Lord Cedric .

Film adaptations

For the cinema

For television

Radio plays

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nic Leonhardt: Theater about Oceans: Mediator of transatlantic exchange (1890-1925). Dissertation. V&R unipress (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlag), Göttingen 2018, ISBN 978-3-8471-0805-4 , p. 140. See also LM Rutherford: British Children's Writers 1880–1914. (1974). In: Laura M. Zaldman: Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 141, Gale Research Literature Resource Center, Detroit 1994, ISBN 0-8103-5555-8 , pp. 59-78.
  2. ↑ Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Little Lord. Translated from English by Cornelia Krutz-Arnold. With pictures by Klaus Müller, 7th edition. 2002, Arena, Würzburg 1995, ISBN 3-401-04566-0 . With an afterword by Freya Stephan-Kühn, pp. 208–212.
  3. ↑ Little Lord Fauntleroy (1914) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  4. ↑ Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  5. ↑ The Little Lord (1962) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  6. ↑ Little Lord Fauntleroy (1976) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  7. ↑ Il piccolo Lord / Der kleine Lord (1994) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  8. ↑ Little Lord Fauntleroy (1995) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  9. ↑ Il ritorno del piccolo Lord / The Little Lord - Savior in Need in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  10. ↑ Radosti i pechali malen'kogo lorda / Little Lord Fauntleroy in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  11. ↑ The little lady in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Web links