Fanny Burney Plaque

Hidden in plain sight on Bolton Street, the Fanny Burney Plaque whispers tales of a literary giant. This plaque, the earliest surviving official London plaque dedicated to a woman, commemorates Fanny Burney, also known as Madame D’Arblay. The Fanny Burney Plaque marks number 11 Bolton Street, where she resided following the death of her husband, the French émigré Alexandre D’Arblay. Arriving in 1818, she referred to it as her “new and probably last dwelling”. Little did she know, she would move three more times, always within the fashionable confines of Mayfair. During her time at Bolton Street, the Fanny Burney plaque’s honoree diligently edited her father’s manuscripts, which culminated in the three-volume “Memoirs of Doctor Burney,” published in 1832. Before Bolton Street, Fanny Burney captivated London’s literary elite with her novels “Evelina,” “Cecilia,” and “Camilla.” “Evelina” caused such a stir that Sir Joshua Reynolds reportedly refused to put it down at mealtimes, and Edmund Burke stayed up all night to finish it. “Camilla,” her most successful work financially, was published after her five-year stint as Second Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte. Interestingly, a young Jane Austen was among the subscribers to “Camilla,” having been deeply impressed by Burney’s “Cecilia,” especially the repeated phrase “PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.” This influence led Virginia Woolf to dub Fanny Burney “the mother of English fiction.” So, as you stand before the Fanny Burney Plaque, remember you’re not just observing a piece of metal, but a portal to a world of literary intrigue, royal connections, and a woman who shaped the landscape of English literature.