Frances Burney's third novel,
Camilla: or, a Picture of Youth, was published in 1796. Fourteen years had elapsed since the appearance of her second novel
Ceciliain 1782 and during that time her literary silence had been broken only once by the publication in 1793 of a charitable pamphlet entitled
Brief Reflections Relative to the Emigrant French Clergy: Earnestly Submitted to the Humane Consideration of the Ladies of Great Britain. Burney's long silence is easily accounted for. Four years after the publication of
Cecilia, the popular novelist had reluctantly accepted a post as Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte in the court of George III. At court, as Burney described in her letters, virtually every moment of her day was occupied by her duties. She had little time for composition,…
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Citation: Crump, Justine. "Camilla, or, A Picture of Youth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6080, accessed 22 November 2024.]