Evelina by Frances Burney

Blurb

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.

Review

This book has been on my TBR pile for years as I have always wanted to read a book by Burney who was one of Jane Austen’s favourite authors. 

It took me a while to get into this book as I haven’t read many books written in the form of letters but once I did I absolutely loved it. The first thing that really struck me was how funny this book was. The character of the Captain was hilarious and also a bit unbelievable at times. The scene with the monkey seemed very fake but was still highly amusing. The Captain definitely belonged on the deck of a ship rather than in polite society but he really added to the storyline. 

Another favourite of mine was the dashing Lord Orville who was a true gentleman. Orville wasn’t a poser like the other men in this book who insisted on being fashionable at all times and who would rather go to events to be seen rather than enjoy the theatre or opera. Orville was quiet, caring and a man of substance rather than frills. 

Evelina was an endearing character who you couldn’t help but love. Her upbringing had left her rather sheltered and people sought to take advantage of this but she did have an inner strength and fought against those who tried to make her do things she didn’t want to. She also had some very good friends who looked after her. 

Evelina is a beautifully written book which just like Austen highlights the absurdity of high society in Georgian England. It also highlights what limitations women in the Georgian period had to go through and fight against. 

However, above everything this book is a love story and a beautiful love story at that. I couldn’t put this book down and I can really see why Austen liked Burney’s books so much and I can also see Burney’s influence in Austen’s books. I give this book a big 5 out of 5 Dragons and I fully plan on reading Burney’s other books soon. 

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Purchase Links

Bookshop.org | Waterstones | WH Smith

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About the author

Also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay. Frances Burney was a novelist, diarist and playwright. In total, she wrote four novels, eight plays, one biography and twenty volumes of journals and letters.

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