Frances (Burney) D'Arblay (1752 - 1840)

Born 13 Jun 1752 in Lynn Regis, Norfolk, England

Ancestors

Wife of Alexandre D'Arblay — married 28 Jul 1793 in Mickleham, Surrey, England

Died 6 Jan 1840 at age 87 in London, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Frances (Burney) D'Arblay is Notable.

Frances (Burney) D'Arblay was born in Lynn Regis, Norfolk, England.

Frances, the daughter of Charles Burney and Esther, was born on June 13, 1752 and baptised on July 7, 1752 in Lynn Regis, Norfolk, England.^[1][2] She had two brothers: James and Charles and three sisters: Susannah, Esther, and Charlotte.^[1] The family lived at 84 High Street in the 1750s.^[3]

Her first novel, Evelina, or a Young Lady's Entrance into the World was published anonymously in 1778. The book was a huge success and Frances was brought into literary and high society. Her second book, Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress, was published in 1782 and also very succesful. She did not write anything for six years after this.^[4][5]

Frances was employed as Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III) in 1786^[1] or 1788, at age 38. She would receive £200 a year and would live in Windsor and other royal houses.^[6] She frequently visted Mary Delaney who lived on St Albans Street, Windsor, right beside Windsor Castle.^[7] Frances kept the position for five years, until she left in July 1791 for health reasons.^[8][9][6]

She married General Alexandre Gabriel Pieuchard d'Arblay on July 28, 1793 in St Michael and All Angels, Surrey, or on July 30, 1793 in Lincolns Inn Fields, London.^[10][11][12] General d'Arblay was an military officer to Marquis de Lafeyette, and he fled from France to England in 1791 during the French Revolution.^[13] They had one son, Alexander Charles Louis d'Arblay, born between 1793 and 1795.^[14][15]

In 1796, Frances wrote Camilla: A Picture of Youth. The novel was a commercial success and kept the d'Arblays from falling into poverty.^[1] They used the money to build a cottage on Chapel Lane, Westhumble in Surrey where they lived from 1797 to 1801.^[16] They moved to France around 1802, where they were forced to remain for a decade when the Napoleonic Wars restarted.^[9][13]

Around August 1810, Frances began experiencing 'a small pain' in her breast, later describing it as "being rather heavy than acute". Her symptoms got worse, and two years later in 1812, persuaded by multiple friends and her husband, she had a mastectomy. D'Arblay got Frances the best surgeons in France to do the operation, which lasted 20 minutes total. 9 months after it happened, she wrote a 12-page letter to her sister, Esther, describing the experience in detail.^[13]

While in France, she wrote her fourth and final novel The Wanderer which was published after the family left France sometime between 1814 and 1815.^[4][5]

Frances and her family moved to Bath, England where she lived until d'Arblay died in 1818.^[1] Frances and her son, Alexander, moved to London.^[1] Alexander died young in 1837 and was buried in Walcot St Swithin, Somerset.^[17][9] At a later date, she lived at 11 Bolton Street in Mayfair, London, as memorialized by the Royal Society of Arts who erected a plaque there in her honour.^[18]

Frances died at the age of 88. Her death was registered in 1840 in Saint George Hanover Square registration district in the March quarter.^[19] At the time of her death, she was living at 29 Grosvenor Street, London. She was buried on January 15, 1840 in Walcot St Swithin, Somerset.^[20][21][22] Her will was dated March 6, 1839 and proven on February 17, 1840 in London.^[23]

Over the course of her life, Frances had written 14 works, consisting of four novels, eight plays, and two non-fiction books.^[4][5]

Research Notes

Her will is available online and at the National Archives in Kew. The font is hard to read, but there are four pages to the will.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Commire, A. and Klezmer, D. (1999) Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Available at: https://archive.org/details/womeninworldhist03comm/page/228/mode/2up. page 230 (Accessed September 22 2023).
2. ↑ Baptism: "FreeReg UK Parish Register database", database
   Norfolk; King's Lynn; St Nicholas; Parish Register; File line number: 2099
   FreeReg Transcription (accessed 22 September 2023)
   Frances Burney baptism on 7 Jul 1752, daughter of Charles Burney & Esther, in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.
3. ↑ 84 High Street Dr Charles Burney (1726-1814) composer and music historian, and his daughter Fanny Burney (1752-1840) novelist and diarist, lived here in the 1750's. 84 High Street, King's Lynn, Norfolk. https://openplaques.org/plaques/42342 (Accessed September 22 2023).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} "Frances (Fanny) Burney d'Arblay (1752-1840)." McGill University. (9 October 2023). https://www.mcgill.ca/burneycentre/resources/frances-fanny-burney-darblay-1752-1840
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} "Burney, Frances (Mme. D'Arblay; 1752–1840) ." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Encyclopedia.com. (September 19, 2023). https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/burney-frances-mme-darblay-1752-1840
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Davenport, H. (no date) Fanny Burney: Royal Servant. https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/work/england/berkshire/article_1.shtml (Accessed September 22 2023).
7. ↑ From 1785 to 1788 Mrs Mary Delany (1700-1788) artist and friend of Royalty lived here in a house provided by King George III. A frequent visitor was the novelist and diarist Fanny Burney (1752-1840) while engaged as Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte. https://openplaques.org/plaques/1810 (Accessed September 22 2023).
8. ↑ Fanny Burney: The Keeper of the Robes. (2019) https://drbp.hypotheses.org/890 (Accessed September 22 2023).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Britannica (no date) Frances Burney. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fanny-Burney (Accessed September 22 2023).
10. ↑ Marriage: "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database
    citing Digital film/folder number: 007908688; FHL microfilm: 1042197
    FamilySearch Record: NV3V-B28 (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Frances Burney marriage to Alexander Gabriel Pieuchard d'Arblay on 28 Jul 1793 in Mickleham, Surrey, England.
11. ↑ Marriage: "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database
    FamilySearch Record: V52S-LDY (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Francisca Burney marriage to Alexander Gabriel Pieuchard d'Arblay on 30 Jul 1793 in Lincolns Inn Fields, London, England.
12. ↑ Marriage: "Surrey, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1937", database with images
    Surrey History Centre; Woking, Surrey, England; Surrey Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: MIC/2/1. Available in-person at https://www.surreyarchives.org.uk/collections/getrecord/SHCOL_MIC_2_1_1_1.
    Ancestry Sharing Link (free access)
    Ancestry uk Record 4779 #93010841 (subscription required, accessed 22 September 2023)
    Frances Burney marriage to Alex Gab. Pienchard Dardblay on 28 Jul 1793 in St Michael and All Angels, Surrey, England.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} British Library (1812) Letter from Frances Burney to her sister Esther about her mastectomy without anaesthetic, 1812. Berg Coll MSS Arblay, Box 1 of 2, Arblay, F.B. d', A.L.S. to her sister, Esther B. Burney, Jan, 8, 1781-March 12, 1819. In Folder 8: Arblay, Frances Burney d'. 1 A.L.S. and 4 A.L. to her sister, Esther Burney. Passy and Paris, May 14, 1803-March 22-1812. Includes ""mastectomy letter.". https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/letter-from-frances-burney-to-her-sister-esther-about-her-mastectomy (Accessed September 22 2023).
14. ↑ Baptism: "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database
    citing Digital film/folder number: 008068706; FHL microfilm: 991766
    FamilySearch Record: NRHJ-5T5 (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Alexander Charles Louis d'Arblay baptism on 11 Apr 1795, son of Alexander Gabriel Pienchard d'Arblay & Frances, in Great Bookham, Surrey, England.
15. ↑ Burial: "England, Somerset, Church Records, 1501-1999", database
    citing Page: 309; Affiliate Name: Somerset Archives; Digital film/folder number: 007566687; Record number: 002028580
    FamilySearch Record: 6D9S-QB5X (accessed 22 September 2023)
    FindMyPast Image ($)
    Rev Alexander Charles Louis Prichard d'Arblay burial (died age 41) on 28 Jan 1837 in Walcot, Somerset, England, United Kingdom.
16. ↑ In this village Fanny Burney novelist and diarist and her husband Gen. D' Arblay built their cottage 'Camilla' they lived in Westhumble 1797-1801. https://openplaques.org/plaques/1119 (Accessed September 22 2023).
17. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database
    Find A Grave: Memorial #223069755 (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Memorial page for Alexander Charles Louis Piochard D'Arblay (1796-19 Jan 1837), citing St. Swithin Churchyard, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, Somerset, England (plot: C.53); Maintained by ! woowoo (contributor 49949980).
18. ↑ BURNEY, FANNY (1752-1840) (no date) English Heritage. https://web.archive.org/web/20110705003643/www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/burney-fanny-1752-1840-a.k.a.-madame-darblay (Accessed September 22 2023).
19. ↑ Death Registration: "England & Wales General Register Office", database
    GRO Online Indexes - Death (accessed 22 September 2023)
    D'arblay, Frances (Age at death: 88).
    GRO Reference: 1840 Jan-Feb-Mar in Saint George Hanover Square Volume 01 Page 21.
20. ↑ Burial: "FreeReg UK Parish Register database", database
    Somerset; Walcot; St Swithin; Parish Register; File line number: 311
    FreeReg Transcription (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Frances D'arblay burial on 15 Jan 1840 in Walcot, Somerset, England.
21. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database with images
    Find A Grave: Memorial #12389345 (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Memorial page for Fanny Burney (13 Jun 1752-6 Jan 1840), citing St. Swithin Churchyard, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset Unitary Authority, Somerset, England (plot: churchyard, grave); Maintained by Find a Grave.
22. ↑ Memorial: "Find a Grave", database with images
    Find A Grave: Memorial #10446355 (accessed 22 September 2023)
    Memorial page for Frances Burney d'Arblay (13 Jun 1752-6 Jan 1840); Maintained by Lisa (contributor 46541077).
23. ↑ Will of Frances D'Arblay, Widow of No 29 Lower Grosvenor Street Grosvenor Square, Middlesex. Reference: PROB 11/1922/332. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D66688

See also:

• Wikipedia: Frances Burney