'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. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Evelina, Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into...
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
"Longtime admirers of Burney’s delightful 18th-century comedy of manners, Evelina, will no doubt rejoice in Broadview’s impressive new edition." -- Terry Castle, Stanford University
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From the Publisher
The Broadview Editions series is an effort to represent the ever-changing canon of literature in English by bringing together texts long regarded as classics with valuable, lesser-known literature. Newly type-set and produced on high-quality paper in trade paperback format, the Broadview Editions series is a delight to handle as well as to read.
Each volume includes a full introduction, chronology, bibliography, and explanatory notes along with a variety of documents from the period, giving readers a rich sense of the world from which the work emerged. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Roman Clodia
TOP 50 REVIEWER
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.
34 of 35 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".
28 of 30 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.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 65 reviews
4.4 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a brilliant read!
This book is great - funny, romantic and suitably dramatic! Although some of the lead characters are slightly two-dimensional, there are others that make you laugh out loud! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mp
3.0 out of 5 stars
not finished ... but wish I had ..
Not finished this yet ... but would like it to finish soon! ... not bad enough to give up on, but not good enough to have me gripped.
Published 2 months ago by CS
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting precursor to Austen
Like the well-known Austen plot of a parentless young girl negotiating her way into the wider world of adulthood, Burney's novel follows Evelina as she leave her secluded country... Read more
Published 4 months ago by chubbagrubb
5.0 out of 5 stars
A little bit of "Who's your Father".
As some other reviewers have already stated, Evelina is pretty much standard Eighteenth Century fare. Read more
Published 5 months ago by V. G. Harwood
5.0 out of 5 stars
18th century masterpiece
It was pleasure to read "Evelina" written by Fanny Burney in the 18th century. Fanny Burney was the daughter of Dr Charles Burney who was musichologist at that time. Read more
Published 5 months ago by superblues
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read from the past
This is an epistolatory novel, being in the form of letters from a few of the characters to one another. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Doc Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book!!
I bought this book for university and fell in love with it. The book consists of letters mainly written by the main character Evelina. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Published 8 months ago by Amy.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A tourist guide to eighteenth-century London or Bath.
Evelina is a young girl who has been brought up in the country away from society. At 17 she is suddenly introduced into London and the novel follows her naïve misunderstandings and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Willis
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 15 months ago by susie
5.0 out of 5 stars
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 on 30 Mar 2011 by P. B. Sanders
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
