Scheduled to be produced at Covent Garden in March 1800, the performance of
Love and Fashionwas cancelled after the death of Burney’s sister Susanna in January of that year and the idea was never revived (Sabor I: xx). Burney’s biographer, Claire Harman, speculates that Burney’s loss of the potential income from
Love and Fashionwas a primary catalyst to her husband’s journey to France in an attempt to salvage money from his estates, a journey that would lead to Burney’s exile in France from 1802 to 1812 (287).
Love and Fashion takes its name from the conundrum of the female lead, Hilaria, who must choose between marrying Valentine for love or marrying the rich and disagreeable Lord Ardville. If she marries Valentine, her guardian’s son, poverty will confine them to a country
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Citation: Crouch, Eleanor. "Love and Fashion". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 October 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=23813, accessed 23 November 2024.]