WELCOME TO THE WEBSITE OF THE
BURNEY SOCIETY UK
We aim to promote the work of the writer Frances Burney (1752-1840) her family and wider circle. We are a literary Society based in the UK but membership is open to anyone with an interest in the Burney family and their work. Members receive quarterly newsletters, back editions of which are available via the menu above. We have a close connection to the North American Burney Society and the Burney Centre at McGill University, Montreal. Our members also receive their Burney Letter and Burney Journal.
LATEST NEWS
2021 Annual General Meeting
Saturday 4 September 2021 via Zoom at 14:00 BST (GMT +1)
After the AGM there was a talk by Professor Maurizio Ascari.
2021- 2022 Burney Society UK Research Bursary
We are pleased to announce our 2021 – 2022 Research Bursary of £300 has been awarded to Catherine Pocock, a PhD candidate at Sheffield University to assist her research on the publishing experience of Frances Burney.
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Burney Society UK 2022 Conference
This is planned for Saturday 11th to Monday 13th June 2022 in London, to correspond with the twentieth anniversary of the unveiling of the stained-glass window to commemorate Frances Burney in Westminster Abbey. On Monday 13 June we will visit Westminster Abbey for a commemoration of the Frances Burney window and Evensong, for those who wish to remain. We also plan to visit the library of St Bride’s Foundation, which houses the important catalogue listing which Simon Macdonald used to confirm Elizabeth Meeke as a Burney.
We hope to arrange additional visits in the week after the conference as optional extras which may be of interest to Burney members, such as to Chawton House, and to the Weymouth area to trace Frances Burney’s 1789 journey as attendant to Queen Charlotte. Details will be made available closer to the date.
It would be extremely helpful for our planning process if people interested in this conference would email us with a no commitment statement of possible attendance, including whether you require London accommodation, via ukburneysociety@gmail.com
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Background to proposed UK Society 2021 trip:
St. Paul’s Church, Deptford is where Charles Burney Jn. (1757 – 1817) was rector and is buried. This will be a free event and all members and guests are welcome. The proposed itinerary for this postponed event will include a talk on Charles Burney Jn. by Sophie Coulombeau, an organ recital featuring music composed by Dr. Charles Burney and a tour of this Grade I listed Church by the pastor, Fr. Paul Butler. This will be followed by a light tea in the crypt. There is no charge but donations to the church are welcome. Date will be advised when available.
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Previous Burney related events:
29th April 2021. Dr Cassie Ulph gave a talk (which is currently still available via Streatham Society YouTube) ‘Remembering Hester Thrale Piozzi, 200 years’. Organised by the Streatham Society. (May only be for those who enrolled – but you could try) ‘
The death of Hester Piozzi on 2 May 1821 marked the end of an era, with the loss of an intellectual and social force associated with some of the most famous names in literary London. During her years as Mrs Thrale, mistress of Streatham Park, she had hosted some of the most feted writers of her day, including Samuel Johnson and Frances Burney. As Mrs Piozzi, she embraced a new career as a writer of travel memoirs, biography, history, and more. This talk marks the bicentenary of her death by exploring the fascinating life of the woman known to many as ‘Dr Johnson’s Mrs Thrale’. As Mrs Piozzi, she often looked back on her Streatham years which represented both a period of great intellectual activity but also the restrictions of her first marriage to the brewer Henry Thrale. This talk will focus particularly on how the ‘Mrs Thrale’ we remember today was shaped by those crucial years at Streatham, and how Hester Piozzi herself would remember and retell her Streatham years in her later writing. It will also briefly touch on some of the projects taking place in Piozzi studies today, as renewed interest in her literary work sees her finally stepping out of the shadow of her illustrious guests.’
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Livestream Reading of Frances Burney’s The Woman Hater was held on Monday 25 January 2021 at 7.30pm EDT (New York) (0.30 am Tuesday 26 January in UK)
Reviewed by Miriam Al Jamil in our Spring 2021 Newsletter.
There was also an interactive discussion of the play and its themes with director, Everett Quinton, scholar Tara K. Menon, and members of the company.
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2020 Burney Society UK AGM was held online via Zoom on 3rd October 2020 at 14:00 UK time. AGM Draft Minutes and the Amended Constitution are available on the Annual General Meeting page.
Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre gave an excellent talk after the AGM. Sian has kindly allowed us to upload the text of the talk, in addition to the Studio script of her play ‘When Fanny met Germaine’ on our AGM page.
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23 November 2019 Professor Francesca Saggini Talk ‘Below and Beyond. On Re-Reading Burney’s Biographies’. Women’s Sudies Group 1558- 1837 Seminar Series at The Foundling Museum.
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5 November 2019 Dr Deborah Jones Talk ‘The Brilliant Burneys’ For an online interview related to this talk please see link: https://www.yourvalleynews.co.
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13th October 2019 Professor Jocelyn Harris: ‘Satire, Celebrity and Politics in Jane Austen’ at Chawton House, sponsored by The Burney Society UK
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30 July – 1 August 2019 Conference of the Burney Society (UK) Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln, organised by Dr. Cassie Ulph. See Conference page.
29 July 2019 AGM held after conference See AGM page