- Paperback: 512 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford; New edition edition (18 April 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0192840312
- ISBN-13: 978-0192840318
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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- #88 in Books > Humour > Satire, Classic
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Product Description
Terry Castle, Stanford University
"Longtime admirers of Burney’s delightful 18th-century comedy of manners, Evelina, will no doubt rejoice in Broadview’s impressive new edition."
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
'Lord Orville did me the honour to hand me to the coach, talking all the way of the honour I had done him! O these fashionable people!' Frances Burney's first and most enduringly popular novel is a vivid, satirical, and seductive account of the pleasures and dangers of fashionable life in late eighteenth-century London. As she describes her heroine's entry into society, womanhood and, inevitably, love, Burney exposes the vulnerability of female innocence in an image-conscious and often cruel world where social snobbery and sexual aggression are played out in the public arenas of pleasure-gardens, theatre visits, and balls. But Evelina's innocence also makes her a shrewd commentator on the excesses and absurdities of manners and social ambitions - as well as attracting the attention of the eminently eligible Lord Orville. Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women's position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story. The new introduction and full notes to this edition help make this richness all the more readily available to a modern reader.
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OH author of my being!-far more dear Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
OH author of my being!-far more dear Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fanny Burney is often unfavourably compared to Jane Austen which I think is very unfair. In Evelina, some of the similarities are more prominent than in her other books (in terms of plot and milieu, at least) but I don't think it's helpful to approach this expecting another Pride & Prejudice.
Evelina has a tangled family history full of eloped marriages and abandonments: brought up by her clergy-man godfather, she has lived a sheltered life in the country until a family friend invites her to stay and Evelina makes her unexpected debut in London. There she send all the young men into a spin, and encounters her French grandmother who has plans of her own.
This is written in epistolary mode, with the majority of the letters being Evelina's own account of her doings. Burney is far bawdier that Austen and reminds me a little of Fielding, with Evelina as a more moral Tom Jones let loose on the big world with all her innocence. Her French grandmother, in particular, is a wonderful character with her bad English and her dodgy manners; as is the father of Evelina's best friend, who is one of the rudest men in literature.
We know there's going to be a happy ending from the start and there are no twists in the romance plot. But for something far breezier and bracing than Austen (who I love) this is highly recommended.
Evelina has a tangled family history full of eloped marriages and abandonments: brought up by her clergy-man godfather, she has lived a sheltered life in the country until a family friend invites her to stay and Evelina makes her unexpected debut in London. There she send all the young men into a spin, and encounters her French grandmother who has plans of her own.
This is written in epistolary mode, with the majority of the letters being Evelina's own account of her doings. Burney is far bawdier that Austen and reminds me a little of Fielding, with Evelina as a more moral Tom Jones let loose on the big world with all her innocence. Her French grandmother, in particular, is a wonderful character with her bad English and her dodgy manners; as is the father of Evelina's best friend, who is one of the rudest men in literature.
We know there's going to be a happy ending from the start and there are no twists in the romance plot. But for something far breezier and bracing than Austen (who I love) this is highly recommended.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Rather shorter and easier to read that Burney's later novels, this a delightful story about a naive and sheltered girl entering into 'polite' society in the last quarter of the 18th century. As a beauty, Evelina is subjected to unrelenting sexual harrasment that she is barely equipped to cope with and a range of social humiliations that would make a much less sensitive person cringe. As is usual in Burney's novels, Evelina is surrounded by a range of grotesque and entertaining characters (my favourites being the appalling, but enjoyably assertive 'French' grandmother and the acid-tongued Mrs Selwyn) and no punches are pulled in satirising the arrogance, hypocracy and deceit underlying fashionable society. In particular the ugly and offensive sexism to which all the women in the book are treated - young and old, rich and poor, plain and beautiful - is quite horrifying to modern eyes and it says a lot for Evelina that she manages to hang onto her self-respect and dignity in the face of it. Finally, the book gives a vivid impression of the range of new entertainments that were becoming available to amuse the 18th century leisured classes - including such novelties as "sight-seeing" and "shopping".
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Anyone who loves Jane Austen (and don't we all?) will certainly enjoy Fanny Burney's Evelina. Burney is really a precursor of Austen, but has unfortunately been completely overshadowed by the later novelist. In its time (1778) Evelina was a tremendous hit and shy Fanny Burney a celebrated author overnight. She was invited into the iterary circle of Samuel Johnson, became a reluctant lady-in-waiting to Queen Charlotte because of her celebrity and at age 41 married a refugee from the French Revolution, thus becoming Madame D'Arblay (check out her interesting diaries). The subtitle of Evelina (The History of A Young Lady's Entrance into the World) says it all: Evelina is an innocent and naive young girl, who suddenly finds herself in unfamiliar London society, surrounded by suitable and not so suitable suitors and a host of other characters. Lots of misunderstandings and perilous situations block Evelina's road, but don't be surprised to find humour and suspense as well, for the continuing question is of course whether Evelina will survive Society unscathed. Even though the pace of a novel more than 2 centuries old may be a bit slow for some, this is something you get used to soon enough: the novel contains far too much life, fun and social commentary to be dull.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Something new for Jane Austen fans
If you like Jane Austen, you'll love this.
This is the first book by Frances Burney that I've read, but I will certainly be reading others. Read more
This is the first book by Frances Burney that I've read, but I will certainly be reading others. Read more
Published 4 months ago by susie
Before Jane Austen
What an utterly remarkable book! It is was published in 1778 and is a milestone in the development of the novel. Read more
Published 14 months ago by P. B. Sanders
A Great Read.
Frances Burney's first novel, "Evelina" is a poignant insight to life for a young woman in Georgian Society and the difficulties she faces. Read more
Published 16 months ago by firestarter
A true classic
The blurb on the back of the book is a great summary of what the novel is about. It describes the themes, the content and the importance of the work in the author's life and body... Read more
Published 17 months ago by W.M.M. van der Salm-Pallada
A little long perhaps, but very fresh and entertaining
Evelina is the (unacknowledged) child of Lord Belmont, and after the death of her mother has been raised by the clergyman Mr. Villars. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Didier
A WORTHY READ
I JUST FINISHED READING THIS 18TH CENTURY NOVEL WRITTEN BY FRANCIS BURNEY; INITIALLY I FOUND THE NOVEL QUITE SLOW AND NOT KEEPING MY INTEREST ALIVE; TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE THE... Read more
Published 19 months ago by C. L. Muralidharan
An unexpected favourite
I picked this up at a second hand bookshop for next to nothing as something to read along my commute. Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2009 by Murray Girl
wonderful book
I read this book at university (I studied English Literature) out of the hundreds of books I read throughout uni, this book is one of the few I've re-read since graduating. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2009 by Tariatulle
If you love Jane Austen then you'll love this!
Frances Burney wrote three major novels in her lifetime, Cecelia, Camilla and her first and best, Evelina. Read more
Published on 4 July 2009 by A. Rawlings
Evelina
The book itself is in perfect condition, other than a few pages from the middle have come un-stuck but I do think that is my fault for opening it so wide when reading. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2009 by Nicola C. Gilbert
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