Fanny Burney (1752–1840)
Author of Evelina
About the Author
Frances ("Fanny") Burney 1752 - 1840 Frances Burney also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d'Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born on June 13, 1752 and wrote four novels (Evelina, Cecilia, Camilla and The Wanderer). Her first novel was written show more anonymously in 1778, without her father¿s knowledge or permission. After it became a literary success, she admitted to her father that she was the author. Her novels were read by many, including Jane Austen whose title Pride and Prejudice was formed from reading the last pages of Burney's novel, Cecilia. Burney is more well known for her journals. She kept a diary for 72 years. In these diaries she recounts a first-hand look at English society in the 18th Century. In 1810 when she suffered from breast pain, it was believed that she had breast cancer; she elected to have a mastectomy performed. This procedure is retold in her journals, and as there was no anesthesia at the time and she was conscious throughout, the entries for this mastectomy are very compelling. In 1793 Burney married General Alexandre d'Arblay, a French general to Lafayette. They had one child, Alexander. In her later years, Burney lived in Bath, England. She is buried there in Walcot Cemetery with her husband and son. Burney died on January 6, 1840 at 87 years of age. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Do not combine her with her niece and namesake Frances Burney (1776–1828), a governess known to have written one work, Tragic Dramas (1818).
Image credit: Engraving by Charles Turner, published 1840
Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery
(image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery
(image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)
Series
Works by Fanny Burney
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume I: 1791-1792: Letters 1-39 (1972) 7 copies
Brief reflections relative to the emigrant French clergy : earnestly submitted to the humane consideration of the… (2012) 3 copies
The Complete Novels of Fanny Burney (Illustrated Edition): Victorian Classics, Including Evelina, Cecilia, Camilla &… (2017) 3 copies
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume II: Courtship and Marriage, 1793: Letters 40-121 (1972) 3 copies
Early Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney, Vol. 3: The Streatham Years: Part 1, 1778-1779 (1994) 3 copies
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume III: Great Bookham, 1793-1797 Letters 122-250 (1973) 3 copies
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume VI: France, 1803-1812 Letters 550-631 (1976) 2 copies
Sophia of Suffolk 2 copies
The Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney: Volume V: 1789 (Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney 1786 -… (2016) 2 copies
The Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney: Volume VI: 1790-91 (Court Journals and Letters of Frances Burney 1786… (2019) 1 copy
FANNY BURNEY Ultimate Collection: Complete Novels, A Play, Essays, Diary, Letters & Biography (Illustrated): Evelina,… (2017) 1 copy
Fanny Burney's Diary 1 copy
The Early Diary of Frances Burney, 1768-1778, Volume I: With a Selection from Her Correspondence and from the Journals… (1889) 1 copy
Works of Fanny Burney (Madame D'Arblay), Precursor to Jane Austen, Samizdat Edition (Annotated) (2011) 1 copy
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame D'Arblay) Volume X; Bath 1817-1818: Letters 1086-1179 (2014) 1 copy
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay) Volume V: West Humble and Paris, 1801-1803: Letters… (1975) 1 copy
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume IX and X: Bath 1815-1817 Letters 935-1085A, and… (1982) 1 copy
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume VII: 1812-1814 Letters 632-834 (1978) 1 copy
The Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay): Volume IV: West Humble, 1797-1801 Letters 251-422 (1973) 1 copy
Fanny Burney and the Burneys 1 copy
The Greatest Regency Romance Novels: Love in Excess, Sense and Sensibility, Vanity Fair, Fantomina, Patronage, The… (2021) 1 copy
Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay: Volume 5: Edited by her Niece (Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies) (2013) 1 copy
Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay: Volume 7: Edited by her Niece (Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies) (2013) 1 copy
Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay (Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies) (2013) 1 copy
Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay: Volume 2: Edited by her Niece (Cambridge Library Collection - Literary Studies) (2013) 1 copy
Associated Works
The Assassin's Cloak: An Anthology of the World's Greatest Diarists (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 570 copies, 8 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Burney, Fanny
- Legal name
- Burney, Frances
- Other names
- Madame d'Arblay (married name)
Burney, Fanny - Birthdate
- 1752-06-13
- Date of death
- 1840-01-06
- Burial location
- Walcot Cemetery, Bath, England, UK
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- King's Lynn, England, UK
- Place of death
- Bath, Somerset, England, UK
- Places of residence
- King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, UK
London, England, UK
Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK
Paris, France
Bath, Somerset, England, UK - Education
- homeschooled
- Occupations
- novelist
playwright
diarist
courtier - Relationships
- Burney, Charles (father)
Burney, James (brother)
Burney, Sarah Harriet (half-sister)
Maitland, Julia Charlotte (great-niece) - Organizations
- Bluestocking Society
- Short biography
- Frances "Fanny" Burney was the daughter of a well-known musicologist. She basically educated herself at home by her reading, and began writing at age 10. Her home in London was a center for musical gatherings attended and performed by elite English and European artists and musicians, and Fanny observed and moved easily among these personalities. She became an extremely popular and bestselling author whose works were admired by Samuel Johnson, Hester Thrale, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and many other literary lights. Her first novel Evelina (1778), proved to be her greatest success and is still read today. In 1786, she was given a post at Court serving Queen Charlotte. She met and married a French exile, General Alexandre d'Arblay, and went with him to France, where she lived for 10 years. She's sometimes referred to as Madame d'Arblay. After her husband's death in 1818, she returned to London. An edition of her journals and letters in eight volumes was published in 1972–1980.
- Disambiguation notice
- Do not combine her with her niece and namesake Frances Burney (1776–1828), a governess known to have written one work, Tragic Dramas (1818).
Members
Discussions
Group read: The Wanderer by Frances Burney in Virago Modern Classics (October 2018)
Group read: Camilla by Frances Burney in Virago Modern Classics (June 2018)
Group read: Cecilia by Fanny Burney in Virago Modern Classics (January 2016)
Group read: Evelina by Fanny Burney in 75 Books Challenge for 2015 (July 2015)
Burney's Evelina in 1001 Books to read before you die (July 2007)
Reviews
Lists
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 96
- Also by
- 6
- Members
- 5,088
- Popularity
- #4,917
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 74
- ISBNs
- 310
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
- 36