​BROOKE, FRANCES (1724–1789), English novelist and dramatist, whose maiden name was Moore, was born in 1724. Of her novels, some of which enjoyed considerable popularity in their day, the most important were The History of Lady Julia Mandeville (1763), Emily Montague (1769) and The Excursion (1777). Her dramatic pieces and translations from the French are now forgotten. She died in January 1789.