Frances Burney

Frances Burney's first and most enduringly popular novel is a vivid, satirical, and seductive account of the pleasures and dangers of fashionable life in late eighteenth-century London. As she describes her heroine's entry into society, womanhood and, inevitably, love, Burney exposes the vulnerability of female innocence in an image-conscious and often cruel world where social snobbery and sexual aggression are played out in the public arenas of pleasure-gardens, theatre visits, and balls. But Evelina's innocence also makes her a shrewd commentator on the excesses and absurdities of manners and social ambitions—as well as attracting the attention of the eminently eligible Lord Orville. Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women's position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story. The new introduction and full notes to this edition help make this richness all the more readily available to a modern reader.

First published in 1778, this novel of manners tells the story of Evelina, a young woman raised in rural obscurity who is thrust into London’s fashionable society at the age of eighteen. There, she experiences a sequence of humorous events at balls, theatres, and gardens that teach her how quickly she must learn to navigate social snobbery and veiled aggression. Evelina, the embodiment of the feminine ideal for her time, undergoes numerous trials and grows in confidence with her abilities and perspicacity. As an innocent young woman, she deals with embarrassing relations, being beautiful in an image-conscious world, and falling in love with the wonderfully eligible Lord Orville. Burney gives the heroine a surprisingly shrewd opinion of fashionable London. This work, then, is not only satirical concerning the consumerism of this select group, but also aware of the role of women in late-eighteenth century society, paving the way for writers such as Jane Austen in this comic, touching love story.

Frances Burney was born on June 13th, 1752 in Lynn Regis (now King's Lynn). By the age of 8 Frances had still not learned the alphabet and couldn't read. She now began a period of self-education, which included devouring the family library and to begin her own 'scribblings', these journal writings would document her life and cover the next 72 years. Her journal writing was accepted but writing novels was frowned upon by her family and friends. Feeling that she had been improper, she burnt her first manuscript, The History of Caroline Evelyn, which she had written in secret. It was only in 1778 with the anonymous publication of Evelina that her talents were available to the wider world. She was now a published and admired author. Despite this success and that of her second novel, Cecilia, in 1785, Frances travelled to the court of King George III and Queen Charlotte and was offered the post of "Keeper of the Robes." Frances hesitated. She had no wish to be separated from her family, nor to anything that would restrict her time in writing. But, unmarried at 34, she felt obliged to accept and thought that improved social status and income might allow her greater freedom to write. The years at Court were fruitful but took a toll on her health, writing and relationships and in 1790 she prevailed upon her father to request her release from service. He was successful. The ideals of the French Revolution had brought support from many English literates for the ideals of equality and social justice. Frances quickly became attached to General Alexandre D'Arblay, an artillery officer who had fled to England. In spite of the objections of her father they were married on July 28th, 1793. On December 18th, 1794, Frances gave birth to their only child, a son, Alexander. Frances's third novel, Camilla, in 1796 earned her 2000 and was enough for them to build a house in Westhumble; Camilla Cottage. In 1801 D'Arblay was offered service with the government of Napoleon in France, and in 1802 Frances and her son followed him to Paris, where they expected to remain for a year. The outbreak of the war between France and England meant their stay extended for ten years. In August 1810 Frances developed breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy performed by "7 men in black." Frances was later able to write about the operation in detail, being conscious through most of it, anesthetics not yet being in use. With the death of D'Arblay, in 1818, of cancer, Frances moved to London to be near her son. Tragically he died in 1837. Frances, in her last years, was by now retired but entertained many visits from younger members of the Burney family, who gathered to listen to her fascinating accounts and her talents for imitating the people she described. Frances Burney died on January 6th, 1840."

This Broadview edition pairs two of Frances Burney’s linked comedies. They both present the character of Lady Smatter, a “femme savante” whose lineage may be traced back to Molière; they both centre on the misfortunes of the “elle” figure, the dispossessed heiress and wife who appears frequently in Burney’s fiction; and they both criticize a culture of misogyny that breeds suspicion and resentment. The Witlings , lighter and more comic, derives from late seventeenth-century conventions; The Woman-Hater , more melodramatic, both expresses and warns against the excessive sensibility of romanticism. Together, these two plays constitute a miniature history of English drama from the Restoration to the French Revolution and beyond. This edition contains a valuable selection of appendices, Burney’s “Epilogue to Gerilda”; letters and diary entries; contemporary writings on comedy; and Burney’s cast-list for The Woman-Hater .

Cecilia is an heiress, but she can only keep her fortune if her husband will consent to take her surname. Fanny Burney's unusual love story and deft social satire was much admired on its first publication in 1782 for its subtle interweaving of comedy, humanity, and social analysis. Controversial in its time, this eighteenth-century novel seems entirely fresh in relation to late twentieth-century concerns.

First published in 1796, Camilla deals with the matrimonial concerns of a group of young people - Camilla Tyrold and her sisters, the daughters of a country parson, and their cousin Indiana Lynmere-and, in particular, with the love affair between Camilla herself and her eligible suitor, Edgar Mandlebert. The path of true love, however, is strewn with intrigue, contretemps and misunderstanding. An enormously popular eighteenth-century novel, Camilla is touched at many points by the advancing spirit of romanticism. As in Evelina, Fanny Burney weaves into her novel strands of light and dark, comic episodes and gothic shudders, and creates a pattern of social and moral dilemmas which emphasize and illuminate the gap between generations.

First published in 1796, Camilla deals with the matrimonial concerns of a group of young people - Camilla Tyrold and her sisters, the daughters of a country parson, and their cousin Indiana Lynmere-and, in particular, with the love affair between Camilla herself and her eligible suitor, Edgar Mandlebert. The path of true love, however, is strewn with intrigue, contretemps and misunderstanding. An enormously popular eighteenth-century novel, Camilla is touched at many points by the advancing spirit of romanticism. As in Evelina, Fanny Burney weaves into her novel strands of light and dark, comic episodes and gothic shudders, and creates a pattern of social and moral dilemmas which emphasize and illuminate the gap between generations.