When Cedric Errol, a young, impoverished American boy, loses his father it seems that he and his mother are in a dire situation, until a lawyer representing wealthy English Lord pays a visit offering a new life. It turns out that Cedric is Lord Fauntleroy, heir to a vast estate in England. The Earl of Dorincourt, Cedric's grandfather, intends to mold to precocious and kind Cedric in to a proper English aristocrat but the dour old Englishman soon finds himself learning about compassion from his ward. Having to deal with a pretender to his title and the Earl's disdain for his American mother, Cedric must also adapt to his new life and learn to become Lord Fauntleroy. Hugely popular in it's day, Little Lord Fauntleroy sparked a fashion trend for the suits worn by Cedric and has been called the "Harry Potter of its time".