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
John Evelyn
17th century diarist and garden designer. Born Wotton, Surrey. Through his 1647 marriage he came into possession of the Sayes Court estate in Deptford, on the Thames. As far as we can tell the poss...
John Middleton Murry
Literary critic. Born Peckham. Husband of Katherine Mansfield and on her death married a woman who strongly resembled her and also died of tuberculosis. His 3rd marriage was a disaster but he ...
Henry Williamson
Writer. Born at 66 Braxfield Road, Brockley. His best known work, 'Tarka the Otter' was published in 1927. He attended the Nuremberg rally in Berlin and saw Adolf Hitler as a source of good for his...
A. A. Milne
Author. Born Alan Alexander Milne at Henley House, Mortimer Road, Kilburn. Best known as the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin, named after his son. 1925 Milne bought Cotchford Far...
Simon Callow
Actor, director, writer. Born Streatham.
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