In fixating on Frances Burney’s determination not to change Cecilia ’s confrontation scene and ending, we have neglected to detect her willingness to make other changes. Unlike Evelina , which was written in secret, members of Burney’s family circle read and commented on Cecilia as a novel-in-progress. An examination of the manuscript draft held at the Berg Collection of The New York Public Library confirms the extent to which Burney amputated Cecilia . She systematically softened her most trenchant sarcasm and even suppressed a description of satanic rites, which is undeniably one of her darkest and most intriguing prose set pieces.