Frances Hodgson Burnett
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1922
First edition (American issue). Hardcover.
The Head of the House of Coombe
Best known for The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett also wrote a number of adult novels, and The Head of the House of Coombe stands among her more mature and socially observant works. Set against the backdrop of late-Victorian and Edwardian England, the novel examines class mobility, female vulnerability, and the shifting structures of aristocratic power.
Unlike her children’s fiction, this work moves within the adult social novel tradition, engaging questions of inheritance, reputation, and the precarious position of women navigating rigid hierarchies. Burnett’s sensitivity to emotional nuance remains evident, but the tone is darker and more politically aware than her better-known juvenile works.
The 1922 Frederick A. Stokes American edition represents the work in its early trade state. While Burnett’s children’s titles dominate collector demand, her adult novels offer a fuller picture of her literary range and remain comparatively undervalued.
Notable Features
1922 American issue
Original publisher’s cloth binding
Adult social novel by a major children’s author
Transitional period work
Condition
VG-
Cloth binding with moderate shelf wear; interior clean; no dust jacket present; no ex-library markings observed.
Why This Book Matters
Burnett’s reputation often rests on her children’s classics, but her adult fiction reveals a more complex engagement with gender, class, and social power. The Head of the House of Coombe broadens our understanding of her career and offers collectors a deeper representation of her literary output.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1922
First edition (American issue). Hardcover.
The Head of the House of Coombe
Best known for The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy, Frances Hodgson Burnett also wrote a number of adult novels, and The Head of the House of Coombe stands among her more mature and socially observant works. Set against the backdrop of late-Victorian and Edwardian England, the novel examines class mobility, female vulnerability, and the shifting structures of aristocratic power.
Unlike her children’s fiction, this work moves within the adult social novel tradition, engaging questions of inheritance, reputation, and the precarious position of women navigating rigid hierarchies. Burnett’s sensitivity to emotional nuance remains evident, but the tone is darker and more politically aware than her better-known juvenile works.
The 1922 Frederick A. Stokes American edition represents the work in its early trade state. While Burnett’s children’s titles dominate collector demand, her adult novels offer a fuller picture of her literary range and remain comparatively undervalued.
Notable Features
1922 American issue
Original publisher’s cloth binding
Adult social novel by a major children’s author
Transitional period work
Condition
VG-
Cloth binding with moderate shelf wear; interior clean; no dust jacket present; no ex-library markings observed.
Why This Book Matters
Burnett’s reputation often rests on her children’s classics, but her adult fiction reveals a more complex engagement with gender, class, and social power. The Head of the House of Coombe broadens our understanding of her career and offers collectors a deeper representation of her literary output.
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