Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849-1924) was born and lived her early life in Manchester, England before emigrating to the US with her family. The author of more than forty books, her breakthrough novel came with Little Lord Fauntleroy, which became a bestseller. After the death of her eldest son, Lionel, she returned to England in 1890 and rented an estate with several walled gardens - it was in the rose garden, her outdoor studio, that the notion of The Secret Garden was born.Robert Ingpen was born in 1936 in Geelong, Australia, and still lives and works nearby in Barwon Heads. He studied illustration art and book design at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 1986 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his contribution to children's literature and he has been honoured with Membership of the Order of Australia. A world-renowned artist and author, Ingpen has designed, illustrated and written more than one hundred books, including his highly acclaimed series of illustrated Children's Classics, which have now been published in many editions around the world.

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