Charles Burney (1726–1814) has several claims on our attention in literary study. A musicologist and author, he made himself into one of the most prominent figures in the world of the arts at the end of the eighteenth century. The first instalment of his great History of Music carried an eloquent dedication to the queen composed by the author’s friend Samuel Johnson. It appeared in the momentous year of 1776, when events across the Atlantic failed to obscure a rush of major publications in England – we have only to name the initial volume of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations; and the rival music history of Sir John Hawkins. These w…
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Charles Burney". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 April 2021 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14721, accessed 21 November 2024.]
