My latest feature for Jane Austen's Regency World magazine discusses 'Fatherless Fanny'. An 'orphan work' is a prose text of uncertain authorship, and Fatherless Fanny; or The Memoirs of a Little Mendicant, and Her Benefactors certainly has a chequered history.
The novel has been attributed to author Clara Reeve, an influential Gothic novelist. However, when first published in 1811, it was erroneously (or deliberately) ascribed to Maria Edgeworth (see the 'List of New Publications' in the 1811 Quarterly Review, image on the right).
 |
| Quarterly Review Oct 1811 |
Maria was a very successful novelist, and her name was often
hijacked in this way.
Fanny's story begins in December 1798 when a beautiful
little girl, 'about five years old' is abandoned at a seminary along with a
trunk full of 'fine muslins and expensive lace', and a bank note for
£200.
A letter in the trunk declares that the girl 'is nobly born,
and entitled to a large fortune' – but the child must be kept safe retreat for
several years.
 |
| Fanny's Interview with her Mother |
For more on Fanny's story, you will have to buy a copy of
the magazine!
Images from my collection.
