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Definition: Burney from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary

Fanny Burney 1752–1840 orig. Frances; Madame d'Ar•blay \॑där-॑blā

\ Eng. nov. & diarist

Burney, Fanny (Frances)

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
English novelist and diarist. She achieved success with Evelina , an epistolary novel published in 1778, became a member of Samuel Johnson 's circle, and received a post at court from Queen Charlotte. She published three further novels, Cecilia (1782), Camilla (1796), and The Wanderer (1814). Background She was born in King's Lynn, Norfolk, the daughter of the musician Charles Burney (1726–1814). In 1760 the family moved to London. Fanny never went to school, but taught herself to read and write. Early success Dr Johnson, who was her faithful friend and admirer, declared that some passages in Evelina would do honour to Samuel Richardson . The novel also won her the praise of the writer Horace Walpole, the politician Edmund Burke, and the painter Joshua Reynolds. In 1779 she wrote a play, The Witlings , containing some sharp-eyed satire on the bluestocking ladies who had taken her up after the publication of her novel; but her father and friends persuaded her against producing it. Her…
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Full text Article Burney, Fanny [Frances, Madame D’Arblay]

From Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
Until recently, scholars have been accustomed to refer to the 18th c. as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. Although a change in this assessment has occurred across disciplines, the careful scholarship being done in regard to Burney’s novels, essays, drama, journals, and correspondence…
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Full text Article Burney, Fanny [Frances] [Madame d’Arblay]

From The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography
English novelist. She was born in King’s Lynn and moved to London in 1760 where her father became a fashionable music teacher. Shortsighted, shy, considered ‘plain’ and stupid, she did not learn to read until 8 but at 10 began writing stories and plays, burning all her work in a fit of religious…
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Full text Article Burney, Fanny

From Philip's Encyclopedia
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Full text Article REPUTATION

From Collins Dictionary of Quotations
Nothing is so delicate as the reputation of a woman; it is at once the most beautiful and most brittle of all human things. BURNEY, Fanny Evelina (1778). Never wear artistic jewellery; it ruins a woman’s reputation. COLETTE Gigi (1944). …
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Full text Article DANCING

From Collins Dictionary of Quotations
Fine dancing, I believe, like virtue, must be its own reward. AUSTEN, Jane Emma (1816). [Said on dropping fifty dollars into a tambourine held out by a Salvation Army collector] Don’t bother to thank me. I know what a perfectly ghastly season it’s been for you Spanish dancers. [Attr.] Dancing? Oh, …
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Full text Article PAIN

From Gaither's Dictionary of Scientific Quotations
Scottish anatomist and surgeon Pain is the necessary contrast to pleasure; it ushers us into existence or consciousness: it alone is capable of exciting the organs into activity: it is the compassion and the guardian of human life. The Hand, Its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as Evincing Design…
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Full text Article Phillips, Molesworth (1755-1832)

From Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable
Royal marine and explorer. He was born in Swords, Co. Dublin, on 15 August 1755 and commissioned second lieutenant in the Royal Marines in 1776. He was appointed to the marine complement on the Discovery , one of the ships on Captain Cook's last voyage (the other being the Resolution ), and sailed…
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Full text Article Portrait of Charles Burney, c.1781 (oil on canvas)

From Bridgeman Images: The Bridgeman Art Library
Portrait of Charles Burney, c.1781 (oil on canvas)
Artist: Reynolds, Sir Joshua (1723-92) Location: Museo Civico, Bologna, Italy Credit: Portrait of Charles Burney, c.1781 (oil on canvas), Reynolds, Sir Joshua (1723-92) / Museo Civico, Bologna, Italy / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library Date: 18th c. Medium: oil on canvas Description: Charles…
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Full text Article Burney

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary Full text Article Biographical Names
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Full text Article MUSIC

From Collins Dictionary of Quotations
Music, the greatest good that mortals know, And all of heaven we have below. ADDISON, Joseph ‘ Song for St Cecilia’s Day ’ (1694). The music teacher came twice a week to bridge the awful gap between Dorothy and Chopin. [Attr.] I can’t listen to that much Wagner. I start getting the urge to conquer…
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