3 Review(s)

Born into a musical family as the daughter of Charles Burney, Frances 'Fanny' Burney (1752-1840) opted for a life of letters. Her epistolary novel Evelina generated both sensation and sales upon its appearance early in 1778, and when her identity as the author was soon revealed, it opened the door to intellectual circles frequented by the likes of Samuel Johnson and fellow diarist Hester Thrale. Appearing under her married name of Madame d'Arblay, her witty and candid journals and correspondence, from her breakthrough until her final years, were edited by her niece Charlotte Barrett (1786-1870) and first published in seven volumes between 1842 and 1846. Reissued here is the new edition of 1854, including biographical notes. Volume 5 covers the period from March 1789 through to September 1793, during which she married an emigre officer as the French Revolution shook Europe.