I had read this as a child, but reread it recently. It's still a charming book, though like the author's other books it has to be taken with a grain of salt nowdays to counteract the excessive sweetness and morality that permeates children books of the period.

The story is a simple one: a young boy in America learns that due to his father and uncles' deaths he is now the heir of an earldom in England. His sweetness and good behavior win over and reform his crotchety old grandfather. A simple story for young children, I'd give it 4 stars but young Cedric is really too perfect to be believable, at least to an adult reader.