--- description: Find out why 'Cecilia' made the list. title: 'Cecilia' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt341f164408b5ca79/698a593fb3fce3bf2a0cd69f/Cecilia-Frances-Burney.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # Cecilia by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/) ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer  One of the first romance books [ever published](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fanny-Burney "undefined"), Frances Burney’s 1782 novel paints a vivid portrait of life and love among 18th-century London’s high society set. After 20-year-old Cecilia learns she will only be permitted to inherit her late uncle’s fortune if she finds a husband who agrees to take her surname, the orphan heiress must navigate an army of suitors—ranging from the gentlemanly to the scoundrelly—in pursuit of a partner who will allow her to maintain her financial autonomy. Fueled by misunderstandings, duels, and secret marriage plots, the comedy of manners-meets-romance proved quite successful, earning praise for its sharp social satire and yielding more than 50 different editions in the nearly 250 years since its release. It also had an [untold influence](https://janeaustens.house/online-exhibition/the-making-of-pride-and-prejudice/the-making-of-pride-and-prejudice-1/ "undefined") on Jane Austen, who adopted a similar use of free indirect discourse and is thought to have pulled the title of [_Pride and Prejudice_](https://time.com/6996593/pride-and-prejudice/ "undefined")from _Cecilia_’s final pages. Austen also directly references Burney’s work in _Northanger Abbey_, _Persuasion_, and _Sanditon_. **Buy Now:** _Cecilia_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780199552382 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/4eRK11P "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/"},"headline":"Cecilia","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:09:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:33:56.939Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt341f164408b5ca79/698a593fb3fce3bf2a0cd69f/Cecilia-Frances-Burney.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"creator":"Megan McCluskey","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt341f164408b5ca79/698a593fb3fce3bf2a0cd69f/Cecilia-Frances-Burney.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/","name":"Cecilia"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Behind the Scenes of the Romance Novels Photo Shoot","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sS0W5P5t/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-31T16:23:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sS0W5P5t.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/","duration":"PT32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996692/cecilia/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```