Cecilia: Memoirs of an Heiress

Written by Frances Burney

Narrated by LibriVox Community

The plot of Cecilia revolves around the heroine, Cecilia Beverley, whose inheritance from her uncle comes with the stipulation that she find a husband who will accept her name. This proves impossible, and she gives up her fortune to marry for love.

Jane Austen referred to Cecilia and other novels in her novel, Northanger Abbey: “'And what are you reading, Miss — ?' 'Oh! It is only a novel!' replies the young lady, while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame. 'It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda'; or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are conveyed to the world in the best–chosen language. The title of Austen's Pride and Prejudice may have been inspired by a passage at the end of Cecilia: “remember: if to pride and prejudice you owe your miseries, so wonderfully is good and evil balanced, that to pride and prejudice you will also owe their termination.” (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Karen Merline)

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

Frances Burney

Frances Burney (1752-1840) was an English novelist, playwright, and satirist. Born in Lynn Regis, England, Burney was the third child of six and began writing at the age of ten. In 1778, Burney published Evelina, her first novel, anonymously. Despite her attempts to conceal her identity—which stemmed from a fear of social condemnation as an upper-class woman—her family and friends soon identified Burney as the author of Evelina, for which she would receive critical acclaim and popularity. Following the success of her debut, Burney would write three more novels—Cecilia (1782); Camilla; Or, A Picture of Youth (1796); and The Wanderer; Or, Female Difficulties (1814)—all of which satirize the lives and social conventions of English aristocrats. Although she wrote plays throughout her career, she was dissuaded from having them performed by her father; Edwy and Elgiva, her only play to be produced, closed after one night due to poor audience reception. Regardless of the hostility she faced as a woman and professional writer, her works were widely read and received praise from such figures as Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, Jane Austen, and William Makepeace Thackeray.