tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post3118582680949448693..comments2024-03-12T07:11:33.877+00:00Comments on Regency History: A novel influence - Jane Austen and CeciliaRachel Knowleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14058142939706153724noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post-8413044090685582602023-05-10T02:31:05.234+01:002023-05-10T02:31:05.234+01:00I think there are recorded letters between Austen ...I think there are recorded letters between Austen and Eliza where Austen offers writing advice and praises Eliza for focusing on a village of people, as she was currently doing for her book (which was developed into Emma). So it seems more likely that they were both competent writers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post-53750866256975318792021-04-01T05:39:25.140+01:002021-04-01T05:39:25.140+01:00Really interesting. What evidence is there about E...Really interesting. What evidence is there about Eliza de Feuillide meeting Fanny Burney?<br />And what with the letters of Jane Austen - are they fake then?<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11986901050933862878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post-85104689857806556672014-01-06T15:20:44.985+00:002014-01-06T15:20:44.985+00:00Thank you for your polite reply. Indeed it is ex...Thank you for your polite reply. Indeed it is extraordinary that Fanny Burney's and Jane Austen's novels were written by the same person, which is why I found it hard to believe myself at first. However, I have used several arguments in my book which are logically impossible to disprove. For instance, the last novel of Fanny Burney "The Wanderer" was considered by all the main critics at the time of its publication to be by a different author to the first three Fanny Burney novels, because it was so dreadfully badly written. We can be fairly sure that The Wanderer was written by Fanny Burney as her letters at the time were written in the same dreadful English. Eliza could not have written "The Wanderer" as Fanny Burney was stuck in France between 1802 and 1812 when it was written. So who was the author of the first three Fanny Burney novels? One reason pointing towards Eliza is that the first two novels, Evelina and Cecilia, were believed to have been written by a lady the same age as their protagonists. Both the heroines and Eliza were respectively 17 and 21 at the date of their publication, while Fanny Burney was several years older. I agree that there is no reason why Eliza could not have written a novel anonymously, and indeed this is what she did. Only after Jane Austen's death in 1817 were the novels attributed to Jane Austen. They could not be attributed to Eliza as Warren Hastings and his wife were still alive. Then of course there is the fact that Jane Austen and Fanny Burney never met which, considering Jane Austen was so heavily "influenced" by Fanny Burney is really unbelievable. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post-91122343533792004752014-01-03T10:29:45.124+00:002014-01-03T10:29:45.124+00:00Thank you for your comment. What extraordinary cla...Thank you for your comment. What extraordinary claims you are making! I find it impossible to believe that Fanny Burney's novels and Jane Austen's novels could be written by the same person. There is a lightness in Austen's works that is just not there in Burney's. The skill shown in Fanny Burney's diaries and Jane Austen's letters indicates that both women were capable of writing well, and Austen shows a humour that is reflected in her novels. If Eliza had written a novel, there is no reason why she could not have done so anonymously, as both Burney and Austen did.Rachel Knowleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14058142939706153724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196124033481143515.post-61038646836254611582013-12-30T00:01:40.097+00:002013-12-30T00:01:40.097+00:00The reason that Fanny Burney "influenced"...The reason that Fanny Burney "influenced" Jane Austen was that in reality they were the same authors. As I show in my recently published book "Jane Austen - a New Revelation" they were both pen names of Eliza de Feuillide, Jane Austen's cousin. Eliza could not publish under her own name as she was the secret illegitimate daughter of Warren Hastings, the Governor General of India. <br /><br />The anonymous dedication to the father in "Fanny Burney"'s first novel, Evelina, is in fact to Warren Hastings, as his initials and name are woven into the poem of dedication. Evelina is aged 17 and the unacknowledged daugher of an important man. At the date of Evelina's publication Eliza was aged 17 and the unacknowledged daughter of an important man. In the novel Cecilia is aged 21 and the heiress of £10,000 whereas at the date of its publication Eliza was 21 and the heiress of £10,000.<br /><br />The last of the well written novels of "Fanny Burney" was written in 1796 while the first of "Jane Austen"'s novels was begun in the same year.<br /><br />Jane Austen and Fanny Burney never met and deliberately avoided each other. Fanny Burney never mentioned Jane Austen in any of her writings. Both had very little education and only acted as secretaries and proofreaders for Eliza de Feuillide. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com