Frances Burney (1752-1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. Her first novel, Evelina, was published anonymously in 1778 and once her identity as the author was discovered it immediately brought her fame as the work was widely admired for its unique narrative and comic strengths. Of her four novels it was her most successful and remains the best regarded. Her second novel was Cecilia, set in 1779 and published in 1782 with the subtitle Memoirs of an Heiress, was also highly successful with over 50 editions. Her later novels were Camilla (1796), and The Wanderer (1814) which, like their predecessors, explore the lives of English aristocrats, satirising their social pretensions and personal foibles. Burney's wit and talent for caricature were widely acknowledged by the literary figures of her day including Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and David Garrick. In addition to her writing career, Burney served as 'Keeper of the Robes' to Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, with whom she developed a warm relationship. In 1793 she married French emigre artillery officer, General Alexandre d'Arblay, with whom she had a son the following year. From 1897-1801 she wrote three plays, all comedies, that remained unpublished in her lifetime, and many volumes of her letters and journals, including those covering her time at court, have been published posthumously. The Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay were originally published in seven volumes edited by her niece from 1842-46, but are reprinted from the later three-volume edition. Volume I covers the period 1778-87 and includes an introductory essay by Lord Macaulay.