Frances Hodgson Burnett

Emily Fox-Seton Frances Hodgson Burnett

Emily Fox-Seton by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Emily Fox-Seton is a well-bred but penniless young woman who works as a companion and assistant to several members of the upper class. Her main employer is Lady Maria Bayne, who is very selfish and very funny, although she cares about Emily. In a "Cinderella" finale, Emily eventually marries a much older man, James, the Marquis of Walderhurst, becoming a Marchioness herself. In the sequel, originally The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, Emily has Walderhurst's son, and her former heir, Alec Osborn, attempts to regain what he sees as her birthright.