Person

Burney, Sophia Elizabeth, 1777-1856

1777-1856

Sophia Elizabeth Burney was born on September 26, 1777, in Bath, Middlesex, England, the niece of Frances "Fanny" Burney (1752-1840), a novelist, and Susanna Elizabeth Burney (1755-1800), a letter and journal writer.

As a young girl, she received letters of encouragement to write from her celebrated aunt Frances who acted as mentor to a protégée who shared her sense of fun and was described as “a merry little thing” as a child. Sophia Elizabeth was the author of short pieces of poetry, drama, and prose, e.g., "The works of Sophia Elizabeth Burney, aged 13. Novels, plays and poems: Written for the instruction of young people and humbly dedicated without permission to Mrs. D'Arblay [Fanny Burney], Vol. I." and “The History of Walter Scarecrow.” Her work is similar to Frances Burney’s writing, as issues of gender and class predominate, and both show characters trying to rise above their class. Although Sophia Elizabeth is not known to have published any of her work, she continued writing into adulthood (some of her later poems survived in manuscript). Both she and her sister Frances were later employed as governesses and wrote for their pupils.

She died in September 1856 in London, England.