Seven-year-old Cedric Errol lives with his mother in New York City and has a decidedly negative view of the British aristocracy. Little does he know, he is a part of that group.
When a lawyer arrives at their home, Cedric learns that due to the death of his uncle, he is now the heir to the Earl of Dorincourt and is to move to England to live with his grandfather. Gaining sudden wealth and moving into a castle might be exciting, but it also means living apart from his mother, whom his grandfather never approved of. And the earl is notorious for being a stingy and heartless leader.
Before long, Cedric's generous nature and open heart begin to change the whole earldom for the better. But his grandfather's character isn't the only challenge he'll face, and soon the new life Cedric has built in England is thrown into jeopardy.

AR: 8.1

With "The Secret Garden", this is perhaps one of Burnett's best known stories, helping to cement her reputation as a children's author.

This is a rather twee and sentimental kind of book - much more so than SG - where the blond, curly haired 7yo Cedric is identified as the new Lord Fauntleroy after the death of his father and his two uncles. His goodness, positive attitude, and ability to see the good in everyone turns his grandfather's head and heart, and turns the lives around of all around him.

It is, perhaps, just a tad too sickly for my liking, but is not a bad book for all that.

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What a sweet little book! I'm not sure what I expected, but the story of a little American boy who becomes heir to a British earl was just a lovely, sweet, simple story. Cedric is loved by all, even the current earl, who is a curmudgeon at best and cruel and vindictive at worst. Cedric wins over the earl (his grandfather) by simply assuming that he is a good and kind person and treating him as such. Nice lesson. ( )

This is one of Burnett's most famous books and is another uplifting story of individual redemption, this time not of a child as in The Secret Garden, but by a child, of an adult. Young Cedric Errol, a 7 year old living in genteel poverty in New York with his mother, is stunned to discover he is heir to an earldom in England. The aging, irascible and curmudgeonly Earl of Dorincort has outlived all three of his sons, including his younger son, who was cast off for marrying a pretty American woman. He summons his grandson across the Atlantic and finds, against his will and inclination, that he fond of young Cedric, who is sweet natured and kind. The transformation of the Earl under the boy's influence is amusing and heart-warming, though Cedric, like a lot of children in 19th century literature, is too good to be true. This is an uplifting read. ( )