Fanny Burney

Fanny Burney (1752-1840), English novelist and diarist, daughter of the musical historian Charles Burney. She was born in King's Lynn and was, like most girls of her time, self-educated. Her first novel, Evelina, was published anonymously in 1778. After she acknowledged herself as author of the book, she became a favourite of the leading literary figures of the day, particularly Samuel Johnson and members of his Literary Club. From 1786 to 1791 Burney was Keeper of the Robes for Queen Charlotte. In 1793 she married a French Royalist refugee, General Alexandre d'Arblay and lived with him in France for 10 years from 1802. Madame d'Arblay's fame rests principally on her diary, which she began on May 30, 1768, and kept for 17 years. It was published posthumously in two sections, Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay (1778-1840) (1842-1846) and The Early Diary of Frances Burney(1768-1778) (1889). These volumes are valuable for the excellent picture they gave of contemporary people, Johnson and Garrick in particular, customs, and court life. Her other novels are, like Evelina, sentimental but witty descriptions of innocent young women entering society, a form derived from Richardson and Fielding; they include Cecilia (1782), Camilla (1796), and The Wanderer (1814). Her work was later to influence Jane Austen.