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Amazon.com If Little Lord Fauntleroy is a crusty, curmudgeonly sort of book, the BBC film adaptation is even crustier. For here, among these 100 overstarched and often overacted minutes, are more frown lines, furrowed brows, and pasty complexions than you can shake a Victorian walking stick at. It's not that the story isn't compelling. True to the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic, a humble and kindly 10-year-old boy living a hardscrabble life alongside his widowed mother in 1870s New York is dispatched by England's Earl of Dorincourt, his dreary and shrunken-hearted though fabulously wealthy grandfather, to claim his title--he shall be Lord Fauntleroy. This is to the old man's distaste, as he is of the opinion that unmannered scum dwells across the pond. Worse for young Cedric, his mother is relegated to a cottage outside the castle, where he is to live. Predictably, the ingenuous lad, a real gee-whiz kind of a kid, soon lights a fire beneath his grandfather's frosty heart. Right when things begin to feel warm and fuzzy, though, another foul American, this one a shameless social climber and pretender on her son's behalf to the lordship, elbows her way in, aiming to conquer the castle. Fortunately, a couple of good ol' boys from back home bust a move to blow her cover. Morose moods aside, what whacks away at the modern viewer's funny bone is the cast's brittleness. Everyone's too cut and dried, too black or white, either beaming beatifically or incapable of cracking a smile. Still, don't count this version out if you're a big Burnett fan, or if certain children in your family display drama queen or king tendencies. -Tammy La Gorce ... Read more Reviews (25) 
Little Lord Fauntleroy - Ricky Schroeder version
I remember seeing this show when I was very young and was very disappointed to find it unavailable. If one every became available, I would purchase it immediately.
The New World comes to the Old World
This delightful story has a reputation for being very sentimental, and it is, but it is also filled with humour. Cedric Errol, an all-American boy, discovers to his dismay that he is the heir to an English earldom, and has to go to England to live with his stern old grandfather, who despises Americans (he must have been reading the Guardian, I suppose). Gradually they learn to like each other, and the grandfather even comes around to liking Cedric's American mother. There is a melodromatic sub-plot involving a false heir, but the story is really interesting enough without it. The best character in the book is Cedric's friend Mr. Hobbs, a staunchly Republican grocer who despises earls "I'd like to catch one of em inside here; that's all!" he tells Cedric, before he knows Cedric is one of them "I'll have no graspin tyrants sittin round on my buiscuit barrels!" By the end of the book though, he has become so attached to Cedric that he sells his grocery business and settles in England, where he becomes an avid follower of aristocratic doings. He says he'll never return to America "It's a good enough country for them that's young and stirrin - but there's faults in it. there's not an aunt-sister among em - nor an earl!" Which pretty much sums up how I feel about America too.
Wow: is the only thing that I can say...
This is an excellent book. The man who wrote the book is called F.H.Burnett (Francis Hodgson Burnett).
I read this book because my sister was telling me all day long to read it. Now I have to say thanks to her, because it's a great book, what's more, is one of the best books I've ever read.
It is about a boy called Cedric Errol. He's not only intelligent but also kind and beautiful. He used to live with his father and his mother, but his father died, so he started trying to make his mother happier.
One day, he was in the corner with her close friend Hobbs (he is a man, not a boy), when the woman that works in his house, Mary, went to the corner to tell to Cedric that he have to return to his house. There he saw a man... This man was called Mr.Havisham, he was the lawyer of Cedric's grandfather. This man was there to go with Cedric and his mother to Dorincourt (that was the castle of his grandfather). Cedric would become a Lord, Lord Fauntleroy. At first, he doesn't like that but then...all the things change.
The lawyer of his grandfather gave him a lot of money to do what he wanted. The surprise was that Cedric, instead of buying things for himself, decided to help other people. For example: he helped the old woman that sold apples in the street to buy a shop.
When Cedric met his granfather, he thinks that his grandfather is the kindest man in all the world, but this opinion is not the same that the poor people that lives there have.
Cedric and the countess become very close. But suddenly, a woman appeared telling to all the people that her son was the real Lord Fauntleroy. This new Lord was very stupid and he was not what we can call "beautiful". Obviouslly, the countess doesn't accept that this stupid boy was the son of his son, and he starts investigating.
Here I have to stop, if not I will tell you all the book, no?. Well, I recommend this book, it is really amazing!!!
Andre (=_0)
Classic Role for Shirley Temple
This story is admittedly sentimental and even syrupy, but admirers of Frances Hodgeson Burnett won't care! If you've enjoyed The Little Princess and The Secret Garden, you surely will want to read her third famous children's classic. The seven-year-old American protagonist is simply too sweet and good-natured to be true; his widowed mother is a study in patient suffering.
Suddenly informed that her son is the heir to an Earldom in England, the mother gives up her homeland to restore her son to his rightful legacy. But his crusty old grandfather
(who cast out his youngest son when he married a mere American) proves mean and selfish-universally hated by his tenants. Now this unexpected grandson may be his last chance--not only to continue the family name and honor, but more importantly, for the old man's personal growth. It's a challenge for American readers to understand the dialogue which Burnett often presents in dialect, while ignoring the distinction between New Yorkese and British peasant slang. Neverthless, this book is a gently told tale which will touch those unjaded readers who remain. The underlying theme may be that of the restorative power of innocence.
Little Lord Fauntleroy
I am also looking for a copy of Little Lord Fauntleroy with Ricky Shroder and Alec Guinness. I have seen all the other films of this title and none comes close to the wonderful feeling you get when you watch this version. I also wish it would come out on DVD. I would buy it in a minute. I lost my VHS version due to a flood and of all things I lost I miss this one the most.
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