the
lead character in the story Little Lord Fauntleroy written in 1886 by
English-born
American novelist Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924). The
novel tells the story of a young
English boy whose father is disinherited for marrying an
American. The
boy lives in poverty in the United
States in
New York with his parents until his father dies, upon which he is summoned to
England, to inherit a
vast estate from his grandfather along with wealth and privileges. The pleasant, honest, kind and graceful young
boy wins the affection of his
English relatives and his
mother is finally welcomed by his family in
England. The
term Lord Fauntleroy came to be used to describe a child of a gentle
nature.