Sublime

"my

opprobrium.

Cecilia (1782) and Camilla (1796) are by Frances (or Fanny) Burney; Belinda (1801) is by Maria Edgeworth. Burney, the most acclaimed novelist of the late eighteenth century, was, along with Samuel Richardson, the most important influence on Jane Austen’s work. Burney’s novels consistently focus on the tribulations—romantic and otherwise—of a young

don't refuse the poor things

little use in high life,

there seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them.