Esther Sleepe Burney was three years older than Charles Burney. She had her oldest daughter, Esther, with Charles before they married. Frances Burney kept this as a "family secret". She even said nothing about the date of her father's marriage. Also, she did not say when his children were born in the "Memoirs". Some people have thought that she hid the dates to make everyone believe she published "Evelina" when 17.
Her mother suddenly became sick. She took a trip to Bath and Bristol Hot Wells. This is where main character in "Evelina" go to try to become healthy again. However, she did not get better. The sickness was thought to be tuberculosis. It is also possible that it was cancer. In 1760, her mother, Esther Sleepe Burney, died. She was described by historians as a gentle woman of "warmth and intelligence". It is possible that Esther Burney's French birth influenced Burney's writing. One example is the conflicts between Madame Duval and Captain Mirvan in "Evelina". It may also have been one reason for her love of and marriage to Alexandre D'Arblay. Fanny was very shocked and sad when she heard that her mother was dead. Her neighbor, Mrs. Pringle, commented. She later said, "...she never saw such affliction" and that Fanny would "take no comfort--& was almost killed with ["sic"] Crying". Her father, Charles Burney, was also very unhappy. He comforted himself with writing sad poems about his wife.
Her father was respected by many people as a musician. He was also well-educated. He wished to show that a musician could be a gentleman. Frances Burney often saw many opera singers, dancers, musicians, and actors (like actors Garrick or Christopher Smart), that spoke in many kinds of languages. She mentioned him in "Evelina": "Well may Mr. Garrick be so celebrated, so universally (everywhere) admired—I had not any idea of so great a performer...every look "speaks"!...I am afraid you will think me mad (crazy), so I won't say any more; yet I really believe Mr. Garrick would make you mad too, if you could see him." She also saw more of the world than most "young ladies" could. She wrote down many rude things people said in her diaries. Traveller Richard Twiss once embarrassed the family by talking about improper things. He said that an immodest book, "The Dictionary of Love", was very good. After Twiss left, Burney wrote in her Diary, 'Even my gentle & candid (truthful) Father says that "he has quite mistaken the Thing," & that he will never see a "Table Cloth" in his House again'.
Some people have said that Burney may have been shy because of her father. People said that Mr. Burney's only fault was "obsequiousness" (too much serving to men). Frances never openly criticized her father. She even carefully destroyed everything bad about him. In her "Memoirs", she wrote that her father had no faults. However, she wrote explanations and excuses for things her father thought were right.
In October 1767, her father married a rich widow. Her name was Elizabeth Allen. She already had three sons. The Burney children did not like their stepmother. Hester, Frances's older sister, married her cousin. His name was Charles Rosseau Burney. He was a musician. She married him in September 1770. She probably did this to leave her home. Because of this, Frances lost a sister who was like another mother. The Burney children did a "secret war" with Mrs. Allen. They called her "Mrs. Precious", "Madam", and "the Lady". A letter from Frances Burney to her sister Hester said, "The excuse to be "fudged" up (made up, lied) for the purpose, I leave to your own ingenuity." Although at this time Frances was 25 years old, she had to find an excuse to visit her married sister. Even their old friend, Samuel "Daddy" Crisp, joined in with mocking Mrs. Elizabeth Allen.
Her father educated her sisters Esther and Susanna much more than Frances Burney. When she was eight, she still had not learned the alphabet. She was also so shy that visitors at her father's house called her the "old lady". Some scholars think she might have had a kind of dyslexia. Her brother used to play tricks on her by pretending to teach her to read and giving her a book upside-down. She did not find out that it was actually upside down and tried to read it. People said that "the little dunce" should be whipped. However, Esther Sleepe Burney always replied that "she had no fears about Fanny". Her sister Susanna said that Fanny has "sense, sensibility, and bashfulness (shyness)". She also added, "I am afraid...that my sister Fanny is too reserved".
In 1763 or 1764, Samuel "Daddy" Crisp became close to the Burney family. He helped Frances write by asking for many journal-letters from her about her family and her life. He influenced her writing very much.
Frances Burney d'Arblay made a new kind of English novel, recording things that happened from George III's madness to what happened after the Battle of Waterloo. She also wrote comedies that had a great influence on many writers to come. For example, Jane Austen found both the theme and the title for "Pride and Prejudice" in the last chapter of Frances Burney's novel "Cecilia". William Makepeace Thackeray, the writer of Vanity Fair, was also influenced by Burney. Her first novel, "Evelina", was a new kind of fiction in English. It was a fiction where women in society were shown in realistic, modern ways - the novel of manners. "She showed the manners and morals of polite society with a relish (liking) for the ridiculous (funny) and a respect for the conventional (traditional)".("Norton Anthology of Literature by Women", p. 242) Burney was the first woman to make the writing of novels "respectable". Her second novel, "Cecilia", published in 1782, was an even greater critical success. Her third novel, "Camilla", was very popular; the sale was "4 times that of "Evelina", & nearly double that of "Cecilia"".
Verses written with Hester Thrale
Works by Fanny Burney at Project Gutenberg
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in northern New York State. It has a population of 2,638. It was founded in the early 1880s to look for iron. Today it is a ski resort. It has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1932 and 1980.
Grebe
A grebe is a medium sized bird. They are in the family Podicipedidae. There are 22 species of grebe.
Most grebes are a medium or large size. Some grebes, such as the Little Grebe are smaller. All Grebes have large feet with lobed toes. This means that each toe is separate on the foot (the opposite of this is webbed feet which is seen in ducks and geese). Some grebes find it difficult to walk on land because their feet are so big. They are much better at swimming and diving in water.
Grebes have narrow wings. Some grebes find it difficult to fly. There are two species of grebe that cannot fly at all. This means that if grebes are in danger, they will dive under water instead of flying away like other birds do.
Grebes can have long or short bills. If they eat insects in the water, they will have a short bills. If they eat crustaceans (for example, crabs) they will have a long, sharp bill.
Most grebes are brown, white and red/orange. They have many, waterproof feathers. This means they can easily float on water and dive into water without getting cold or wet. In spring and summer, grebes have orange crests on their heads. This is so they can attract a mate. Some grebes do a mating ritual. This is when they "dance" in the water.
Grebes make their nest from plants found in the water. The nests float on top of the water. Baby grebes can swim when they are born. They are usually brown and white and do not get their orange crests until they are adults.