Fanny, or Frances, Burney (1752-1840) was a wicked satirist and writer of romantic but very funny novels which were to have a direct influence on Jane Austen and the great writers of the British domestic novel. She was a huge best-seller in her time, but remained fairly unknown in modern times until her recent ‘re-discovery’ since when she’s become highly fashionable - not least for the journals of her extraordinary life, including one of the earliest mastectomies, entirely without anaesthetic, having her first baby at the age of forty three and being there at the Battle of Waterloo.
Evelina was her first novel published anonymously in 1778 and when its authorship was discovered brought her instant fame.