Research topic: Fanny Burney

Fanny Burney later Madame D'Arblay , 1752-1840, English novelist, daughter of Charles Burney , the composer, organist, and music scholar. Although she received no formal education, she read prodigiously and had the benefit of conversation with her father's famous friends, including David Garrick , Sir Joshua Reynolds , and Samuel Crisp. Her first novel and best-known book, Evelina (1778), was published anonymously, but she soon acknowledged its authorship and achieved literary prominence. She became an intimate friend of Samuel Johnson and his circle. Her second novel, Cecilia,... Read more