Burney, Fanny ___ 1752-1840 ___ British ___ writer

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
Fanny was the daughter of the musician Charles Burney; her mother died when she was still young. The young girl's literary development was influenced by the fact that her father had a substantial library and by his friends, in particular a failed author called Samuel Crisp to whom she wrote some early diary letters. These often contained careful accounts of the musical evenings hosted by her father. When 26, her novel, Evelina, a comedy of manners, was published anonymously. It was a huge success. Thereafter, when Fanny became known as its author, she was befriended by the fashionable Thrales and Dr Samuel Johnson. Her diaries, which reveal a rather sensitive, but egotistical, lady, are chiefly known for their vivid descriptions of good society. Although she was employed by George III's royal family in the late 1780s, the diaries avoid mention of the king's developing mental problems. After leaving the king's service, and at the age of 41, Fanny married a French emigre Alexandre d'Arblay.
A biography link
Wikipedia bio

DIARY DATES, CONTENT DESCRIPTORS
1768-1819 ___ literary society people royalty

WEB TEXT LINKS
etext
googlebooks
etext

ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LINKS
Magdalene College, Cambridge University

SOME PUBLISHED TITLES
The Diary and Letters of Madame d'Arblay
The Journal and Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame D'Arblay)
The Early Diaries of Frances Burney
 

May 2005, September 2008
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IMPORTANT NOTES AND CAUTIONS: 1) The first line of basic information may be incomplete in several ways: some historical figures have different names (titles, pen-names); their birth and death dates may be unknown or uncertain (g - guess, c - circa); similarly, their occupations may be unknown, or they may have had other jobs; and, for early diarists, I've used 'British' a bit too freely. 2) The biographical summary may not be accurate. It was compiled quickly from various sources, mostly on the internet, and the facts were not checked anywhere near as rigorously as they would have been if they'd been intended for publication in a printed form. 3) The journal dates and descriptors (which are in no particular order) must be treated with caution: since I have not examined the diaries myself, the descriptors are only guesses based on bibliographies, anthologies and internet biographies. 4) For the biography and etext links, I have ignored any sites with charges, and I have avoided, wherever possible, those with pop-ups or too much advertising. I have limited myself to providing three etext links where there is some variety between them. 5) For the original manuscript links, I have limited myself to providing a maximum of two (although, for a few diarists, their original diaries are held in more than two places). 6) I have provided the titles - chosen randomly - for up to three printed editions of the diaries.