Celebrating Frances Hodgson Burnett | A Brown Bag Lecture by Penny Deupree with Remarks by Jack Neely

The great-granddaughter of famed author Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and numerous other well-known works, will be at the East Tennessee History Center at noon, Thursday, November 19, to speak about the life and career of her gifted ancestor.  The visit marks the 150th anniversary of the family’s settling in East Tennessee.  It was in 1865 that the widow Eliza Boond Hodgson brought her five children, which included the 13-year-old Frances, to America.  They lived first in Jefferson County and a few years later moved to Knoxville, where Frances began writing as a way to contribute to the income of the struggling family.  The mother, Eliza Boond Hodgson, died in Knoxville in 1870 and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery.  It was in Knoxville that Frances married her first husband, Swan Burnett, a medical doctor, and gave birth to her first child.  Penny Deupree will discuss the family’s life in East Tennessee and afterwards, plus Frances’s remarkable career as an author and playwright.

Following Ms. Deupree’s presentation, Jack Neely will discuss Frances Hodgson Burnett’s life in Knoxville and local landmarks associated with the family.  Neely is the directof of the Knoxville History Project, contributing editor of the Knoxville Mercury, and the author of several books on local history.

The program is sponsored by 21^st Mortgage and is free and open to the public.  The lecture will begin at noon at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville.  Guests are invited to bring a “Brown Bag” lunch and enjoy the lecture.  Soft drinks will be available.