A Known Scribbler: Frances Burney on Literary Life

by Frances Burney, Justine Crump, Pradeep Kumar

Frances Burney’s journals and letters, composed between 1768 and 1839, contain a unique account of the creative, social, and commercial ambitions and achievements of an eighteenth-century female writer. Focusing on Burney’s literary life, this selection from her journals and correspondence combines Burney’s own accounts of the creation of her popular novels, her aspirations for her dramatic writings, and her reflections upon her letters and journals as literary productions in their own right. In addition to Burney’s letters and journal entries, this Broadview edition selections from Burney’s Brief Reflections relative to the Emigrant French Clergy (1793) and Memoirs of Doctor Burney (1832); letters by family and friends about her literary activities; and contemporary reviews of The Diary and Letters of Madame d’Arblay .

380 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2002

About the author

Also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay. Frances Burney was a novelist, diarist and playwright. In total, she wrote four novels, eight plays, one biography and twenty volumes of journals and letters.

Reviews

[Matt Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Editing is everything in a work like this, and Justine Crump,the editor of A Known Scribbler: Frances Burney on Literary Life, proves herself capable. The juxtaposition of book reviews, journal entries and correspondence to and from Frances Burney give readers a balanced perspective on the highlights of the 18th century author's life. It serves as a telling glimpse into what it was like for a woman to publish writing in the 18th century, politics of publishing, and expectations of the 18th century reader and writer. More harrowing passages include a graphic account of a mastectomy without anesthesia to rival the worst of dystopian fiction and the tragic subtext of her memoir about her late father. I recommend this book for anyone who wishes to read any of Burney's works or wants a better glimpse into the lives of women writers in the 18th century.