Little Lord Fauntleroy is a beloved children's novel that made a huge impact on the 19th century public shaping everything from boys' clothing fashions to copyright law. Cedric Errol is a generous kind and exemplary middle-class American boy who is suddenly found to be the heir of the Earl of Dorincourt. Saying loving goodbyes to his working-class friends Cedric goes to England together with his mother to embrace his new fortune. His grandfather the old earl is a bitter old man ridden with gout and a foul temper trusting no one. However the angelic boy elicits a profound transformation in the grandfather which not only benefits the castle household but the whole populace of the earldom.