"I HAVE TO GO TO ENGLAND AND BE A LORD": FIRST ISSUE OF LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY

BURNETT, Frances Hodgson. Little Lord Fauntleroy. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1886. Octavo, original pictorial blue-gray cloth; housed in a custom chemise and slipcase. $1500.

First edition in book form, scarce first issue, with illustrations by Reginald Birch.

First published as a serial in St. Nicholas Magazine (November 1885-October 1886), Burnett's book "earned wide praise on its publication; enthusiastic reviewers included Louisa May Alcott, and among its English admirers was Gladstone" (Carpenter & Prichard, 316). "It is unfortunate that Cedric Fauntleroy, the charming American grandson of a crusty English earl, has been stereotyped as a sissy, for he is a charming and resourceful child. But his characteristic velvet suit with Vandyke collar, a fashion of the day, was forced upon many real-life boys [A.A. Milne among them] who then looked upon the novel with disfavor. Nonetheless, it became one of the best-selling books of all time on both sides of the Atlantic, and spawned dozens of theatrical and film interpretations" (Silvey, 106). With printer's device on page [210], 14 pages of publisher's advertisements bound in back, and signature mark 12, indicating first issue. BAL 2064. Pierpoint Morgan Library, Children's Literature 244. Contemporary owner signature.

Interior with a few spots of light marginal soiling; rubbing to cloth edges, with mild toning to spine. A very good copy. FIX: FRONT HINGE.