Frances Burney (1776–1828)
Encyclopedia
Frances Burney was a playwright and governess.
, and the granddaughter of the musicologist Charles Burney
. One of eight children of the impecunious musicians Esther (Hetty) Burney (1749–1832) and Charles Rousseau Burney (1747–1819), who were cousins, she became a governess
at the age of eighteen and worked in various such posts for the rest of her life. This included periods in the households of Sir Thomas Plumer
and Sir Henry Russell
.
In 1818 she published Tragic dramas; chiefly intended for representation in private families: to which is added, Aristodemus, a tragedy, from the Italian of Vincenzo Monti. These are too bombastic for modern taste. It has been speculated by the author of her ODNB entry Burney was affected by "the concerns of her grandfather Charles Burney
(1726–1814) about the potential impropriety of the stage, particularly for female dramatists." She appears not to have had a close relationship with her aunt, Frances Burney, Madame D'Arblay, who claimed in a letter to Esther, "I once thought I had caught a bit of her heart—& I tried for it, 3 or 4 years ago—but I see, & am sorry to see, my mistake."
Having suffered attacks of jaundice throughout her life, Frances Burney died in 1828 in Bath.
Family and life
Frances Burney was the niece of the novelists Frances Burney and Sarah BurneySarah Burney
Sarah Harriet Burney was an English novelist, the daughter of musicologist and composer Charles Burney, and half-sister of the novelist and diarist Frances Burney .- Life :Sarah Burney's mother, Elizabeth Allen, was the second wife of...
, and the granddaughter of the musicologist Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
. One of eight children of the impecunious musicians Esther (Hetty) Burney (1749–1832) and Charles Rousseau Burney (1747–1819), who were cousins, she became a governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
at the age of eighteen and worked in various such posts for the rest of her life. This included periods in the households of Sir Thomas Plumer
Thomas Plumer
Sir Thomas Plumer MR was a British judge and politician , the first Vice Chancellor of England and later Master of the Rolls....
and Sir Henry Russell
Sir Henry Russell, 1st Baronet
Sir Henry Russell was a British lawyer. He was made a Privy Counsellor in 1816, during the reign of George III. The Russell baronetcy of Swallowfield in Berkshire, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 10 December 1812 for him...
.
In 1818 she published Tragic dramas; chiefly intended for representation in private families: to which is added, Aristodemus, a tragedy, from the Italian of Vincenzo Monti. These are too bombastic for modern taste. It has been speculated by the author of her ODNB entry Burney was affected by "the concerns of her grandfather Charles Burney
Charles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
(1726–1814) about the potential impropriety of the stage, particularly for female dramatists." She appears not to have had a close relationship with her aunt, Frances Burney, Madame D'Arblay, who claimed in a letter to Esther, "I once thought I had caught a bit of her heart—& I tried for it, 3 or 4 years ago—but I see, & am sorry to see, my mistake."
Having suffered attacks of jaundice throughout her life, Frances Burney died in 1828 in Bath.
Plays
- Fitzormond, or, Cherished Resentment (1818)
- Malek Adhel, the Champion of the Crescent (1818)