Born King's Lynn, Norfolk, father was Dr Charles Burney. Diarist, novelist: Evelina (1778), Cecelia (1782), Camilla (1796) and playwright. Her first novel, Evelina, was a big success and she entered literary society becoming good friends with Samuel Johnson. She became a member of the royal court, as an attendant to Queen Charlotte, 1786 - 1791, during which she witnessed one of King George III's first major periods of mental illness. When she left she was given a life-long pension and remained friends with the royal family. In 1793 married Alexandre D'Arblay, an exile from France. They returned to Paris and while there Fanny suffered a mastectomy without anaesthetic, which she then wrote about in horrific detail in a letter to her sister. In France 1802 - 1812 but returned to England with her son to avoid him being conscripted. She met Louis XVIII while they were both in London. When Napoleon escaped from Elba in 1815 she was in Paris and only just escaped as he entered. She was in Brussels in 1815 during the Battle of Waterloo. She then returned to England and lived in Bath and London for the rest of her life, dying at 29 Lower Grosvenor Street, Mayfair. Certainly not a dull life.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Frances (Fanny) Burney
Commemorated ati
Sir Isaac Newton's house- detailed
plaque inside building at top of stairway directly facing entrance
Other Subjects
Thomas de Quincey
Born Manchester. Author, best known for "Confessions of an English Opium-Eater" (1821). Was as addicted to books as much as to drink or opium, sometimes renting an extra lodging (which he could n...
Theodore Fontane
German writer and novelist, best known for novel 'Effi Briest' and recognised as foremost realist in 19th century German literature. In 1849 he became a professional writer and was sent by the inte...
Vivien Noakes
Biographer, editor and critic. Wife of the painter Michael Noakes. She wrote a notable biography of Edward Lear and was a leading scholar of the war poet Isaac Rosenberg.
Edgar Allan Poe Society of Prague
Established as a non-profit organisation, it was originally set up to promote the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe and to encourage and promote old and new artistic interpretations of his works. I...
Aubrey Beardsley
Illustrator. Born Aubrey Vincent Beardsley at 12 Buckingham Road, Brighton. Diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven and described by his mother as 'like a delicate little piece of Dresden c...