Frances Burney - (Literary Lives) by J Thaddeus (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Emphasizing Frances Burney's professionalism and her courage, Janice Farrar Thaddeus shows the protean writer who recognised her abilities and exercised them, always carefully shaping her career. Though now frequently depicted as retiring, even fearful, Burney forced on her reading public themes they were scarcely ready for, flamboyantly mixing genres, writing comically about intimate violence. Not content in old age to be merely a literary icon, she privately recorded with increasing clarity the moments when the world lacerates the self.

Review Quotes

'At this date it is no small achievement to come up with new, valid, important, and definitive insights about Frances Burney, but in this fine focussed work, Thaddeus has managed it. Moreover, delightfully and gracefully written, the book is a page-turner.' - Professor Betty Rizzo, City College of New York

About the Author

Janice Farrar Thaddeus is Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies, History and Literature, Harvard University.