Fanny (Frances) Burney (13 June 1752–6 January 1840) was a successful English novelist, dramatist and diarist. She was born into a talented, artistic and musical family, whose social circle included the likes of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the actor David Garrick and Samuel Johnson, who became a close personal friend. She published her first novel Evelina anonymously in 1778 to great acclaim and – once her identity was known – became immediately famous. She subsequently published three other novels and many plays and gained a reputation as one of England’s most successful literary authors. Her satirical works influenced many other writers, including Jane Austen and Thackeray. However, she is best remembered today for her witty, moving and perceptive letters and diaries, that give an extraordinarily vivid portrait of her life and the world in which she lived.

Karin Fernald is an actor, writer and speaker who researches, and aims to create, a vivid picture of a historical character and period. All her subjects are connected with the fine arts; some  are artists themselves. Karin’s lectures and shows are illustrated with a wide variety of pictures, portraits and caricatures of the day. She has taken them round the world.