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Burney's mother died when she was 10 and Burney's older sisters were favored by her father for their intelligence and beauty. Burney was believed to have been dyslexic and did not read until age 8. Anonymously published her first novel, "Evelina" in 1778 without knowledge or permission of her father. The book recieved accolades from critics inclusding Edmund Burke and Dr. Samuel Johnson. She paved the way for other female authors.
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Novelist, diarist and playwright.
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Mary Wollstonecraft born. Moral, philosophical and gender theorist. Mother of Mary Shelley and Fanny Imlay.
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Author. Moral, political and gender theorist. Mother of Mary Shelley and Fanny Imlay.
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British-American writer. Novelist, essayist, playwritght, poet. Also founded on of Boston's first girl's boarding schools, Rowson's Academy for Young Ladies. She wrote textbooks for math, geography, and history among others.
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Often considered the Mother of Gothic literature, Ann was born to a haberdasher. She married journalist William Radcliffe who was part-owner of the "English Chronicle". Radcliffe began writing to occupy her time.
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Burney's humorous romance in the epistolary style about the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat raised in obscurity. She enters society and wins the love of an honorable nobleman.
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First British publication of "Charlotte"
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Argues that women need to be educated. As mothers, they are essential to the nation and need knowledge commensurate with that responsibility.
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America's first best-seller, this novel tells the story of 15 year-old Charlotte who is seduced in England, betrayed by her lover and abandoned in America. She gives birth to his child, goes mad and dies. The sequel, published posthumously, tells the fate of Charlotte's child, Lucy Temple.
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The archeypal Gothic Novel which follows the harrowing adventures of Emily St. Aubert in gloomy settings. Following the death of her father, Emily is imprisoned at the castle Udolpho by the brigand Signor Montoni. Romance with Valancourt, a noble young man. Psychological and physical terror.
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Another comedic romance by Burney about the trials of young love and true love revolving around Camilla Tyrold, her sisters and friend.
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In Naples, 1758 Vincentio di Vivaldi falls in love with beautiful Ellena di Rosalba. Vivaldi's mother, the cruel Marchessa hires her evil confessor, Father Schedoni, to kidnap Ellena to prevent the marriage and promote him in the monastary.
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Pubished posthumously by husband William Godwin, generally considered Wollstonecraft's most radical work. It tell the story of a woman betrayed by an abusive husband and falsely imprisoned in an insane asylum.
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Fanny Burney underwent a masectomy without anesthesia and writes a harrowing letter to her sister where she graphically describes the procedure.
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Burney's last novel, it took her fourteen years to write. The heroine is an unknown, a castaway washed up on British shores. She must hide her identity and is Everywoman yet No-woman. She must survive without friends in an environment hostile to women. The novel was roundly trashed due to its portrayal of women and criticsm of society.
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Some accounts claim Radcliffe died insane while her husband cited the cause of death as asthma.
