In 'Jane Austen's Bookshelf,' Rebecca Romney uncovers the influences of lesser-known female writers on Jane Austen, such as Ann Radcliffe and Fanny Burney. Despite Austen's literary accolades, Burney's works have been largely dismissed and overlooked, even though she played a significant role in paving the way for female authors in the Georgian era. The article points out inherent biases in literary recognition, suggesting that women's contributions are often judged more harshly than their male counterparts, affecting their visibility in literary history.
To her chagrin, Romney had not even heard of Burney, despite being a self-confessed Austen fanatic and a rare book dealer to boot, but she soon found she was not alone.
It wasn't that Burney wasn't any good, it was that she wasn't as good as Austen, even though Richardson or Fielding are never asked to pass the same test.
When Burney loses, that's it: she's off those canonical reading lists, writes Romney, crisply.
Between women writers, you have to beat the best or you don't get to play at all.
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