Customer Reviews

Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World (Modern Library Classics)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The mention of Ms. Burney in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is what originally drew me to this book and it has, without a doubt, become a personal favorite.

Evelina is our heroine, sent to town by her guardian to enter society. Her guardian, who raised her after her mother faced an unfortunate early demise, is a country parson. Evelina's father, of noble blood, is guilty of denying his legal marriage to her mother and essentially putting her out on the streets, and has refused to acknowledge or support Evelina through the years. She has now grown to a great beauty and has been raised with a very innocent and gentle disposition.

When thrown into the midst of a worldly London society, she faces one embarrassing circumstance after another. Surrounded by nothing less than idiots, she is faced with many situations which require wisdom and guts. Not unlike Bridget Jones's Diary, Evelina's story is told through letters, which may make this period novel easier to read for some, but may also at times be confusing if you forget who is writing to whom. This letter format can also seem unrealistic at moments but is forgiven as easily as we forgive some of the unrealistic format of "Bridget Jones". Another note, there are so many passes in this book that singletons could almost use it as a field guide to the world of men.

There are some twists throughout to keep your mind turning and your heart flying and sinking. At times, this lighthearted novel is incredibly moving (i.e. Evelina's reunion with her father)and of course, the ending is sweet and satisfying.

Overall, Jane Austen's inspiration is a marvelous, lovely, and surprisingly modern read.

Fanny Burney was a big influence on Jane Austen, but she has significant differences. Burney was an urban sophisticate, sexually aware, and with a taste for slapstick humor--and far less sentimental.

The beginning of Evelina is a little hard to get through, but once the title character appears it will have been worth it. Evelina is a country girl who comes to the big city and makes every possible faux pas. Along the way she faces near incest, a bitch of a grandmother, other embarrassing relatives, near rape, clinging prostitutes, and a mischievous monkey. The book is full of unforgettable scenes that stick with you long after you close the cover.

But for all the humor, the book is also moving as Evelina it traces Evelina's moral growth.

As part of a group read, I picked up a week late"Evelina" from my local library. I wasn't quite sure whatto expect - certainly this would be no Tom Jones, but it wouldn't be Austen either - however what I found was a pleasant epistolary jaunt through a young girl's first season out. A jaunt, which, although begun a week late was quickly finished two weeks early! Customary to 18th century novels, Evelina's history is somewhat romantic, both her guardian and the hero impossibly good (a refreshing novelty, if a little sappy in places. They were apparently active members in the Mutual Admiration Society), and the secondary characters ridiculously vulgar. As Burney's first novel, the work shows some awkwardness in construction, but is otherwise excellent. Readers of modern romances may find the heros a bit formal, and fans of Jane Austen may find the epistlotary form unbelievable, but both they and lovers of historical fiction would do well to invest in this book, which provides an excellent glance into the end of an era, and one charming heroine's attempt to muddle through it. END

When I heard that Jane Austen read the novels of Fanny Burney, I had to see what could inspire the genius behind "Pride and Prejudice".

Burney does a wonderful job in dispelling the myth that there ever was a time called "the good old days". Immorality, bigotry, and sexual hijinks were just as prevalent then as they are now (it was just better written back then!)

Evelina, the pure and morally upright heroine of the piece, writes about her "coming out" period in London Society. Having grown up in the pastoral seclusion of Berry Hill, Evelina must defend her virtue against a cast of characters as amoral, vapid and ridiculous as any in modern Soapland.

There are raves (minus the drugs); acts of racism; narrowly averted incest (and, subsequently, a whole passel of long-lost relatives who come out of the woodwork); encounters with prostitutes; more come-ons than you could tally at a frat party; and even an indirect comment on transvestitism. Through it all, Evelina's behavior goes from sweet refusals, moral outrage, to nearly having a fit of vapors.

However, she isn't completely bereft of allies. There are Mrs. and Miss Mirvan, two gentle creatures who serve in contrast to the drunken buffoonery of the patriarch, Captain Mirvan. Then there is Mrs. Selwyn, the epitome of all that an Eighteenth Century lady was NOT supposed to be--intelligent, wry, outspoken, and possessed of a rapier-like sense of humor.

Of course, there's the hero (whom I won't mention because he makes himself pretty well known early on).

While the writing is not nearly as tight as Austen's, Burney does a great job in styling each piece of correspondese into a mini-vignette of Society's shallowness and vulgarity.

In all, a very fun little book.

Like another reviewer, I too was introduced to "Evelina" through a college course. Naturally I recommend this book to those who enjoy the novels of Jane Austen, though I'd imagine her fans would already be familiar with Burney since she was Austen's predecessor and inspiration. But specifically, as a male reader, I'd like to point out what men could gain from reading a novel about "a Young Lady's Entrance into the World."

First, the novel is written as a collection of letters--mostly Evelina's, though we do get to read many of the replies--which allows us to experience the story through the mind of a young woman in a personal, intimate way. Male readers, both in Burney's time and ours, are given a vivid picture of how women experienced the social world of eighteenth-century England. I must admit that at several points in the novel I was embarassed to witness things I have said and done to "court" a woman today done pretty much the same way toward Evelina--and realized how ridiculous it looks from the other end. The experience has been educational, to say the least.

Secondly, the plot is well-developed and keeps your interest throughout. The two big mysteries of the novel are whether Evelina will be officially acknowledged by her biological father and be reunited with him (he refused to raise her, and her mother died during childbirth), and which of her suitors she will end up with. A note on the two principal suitors: one could be seen as Burney's picture of a man who knows how to treat women right, and the other is quite the opposite. I certainly learned much from both examples.

Thirdly, Burney was one intellectually sharp lady and no man should think this novel is a sappy romance. Far from it. Her exposure of the hypocrisy and contradictions of society are cleverly woven throughout the novel, though of course with careful subtlety since as a female author she was in a vulnerable position (she wrote in secret and didn't even tell her father, with whom she was very close, that she had the book published until well after the fact).

Lastly, the book is just one damn good read. Burney has a wonderful mastery of language and characterization, and everything sparkles with life and vigor.

I'm hesitant to give anything a full score; but this novel not only hooked for me for days but made me want to move onto Burney's other novels, such as "Cecilia," "Camilla," and "The Wanderer." In short, Frances Burney is one of the great British writers and deserves a place on every bookshelf as one of the founding mothers of the English novel. Her first book "Evelina" is the perfect place to begin enjoying her work.

Francis Burney was a favorite author of Jane Austen's, and in Evelina we see Burney's sly wit and sharp eye for the ridiculous in her society (and ours!). The novel is about a shy young girl's first visit to London society in the 1780s. In the background is the fact that her mother's first exposure to society went horribly wrong, leaving Evelina orphaned and penniless. As Evelina moves throughout high and low life in the capital, she learns the difference between snobbery and good manners, opportunism and personal honor, and selfishness and love. Will she be acknowledged by her absentee father? Will she escape her embarrassing cousins? Will she elude the seductive Sir Clement or catch the eye of dashing Lord Orville? This is a funny, touching, satisfying read. It will make you squirm with embarrassment, laugh out loud, and cheer.

EVELINA by Fanny Burney was an immensely popular novel in its day (1778). Published as an epistolary novel, it built upon the tradition of Richardson and Fielding, both of whom wrote of their respective heroes learning to make their way into a hostile world to make their mark. The world as Fanny saw it was one inhabited exclusively by the upper middle class and full of rules that strictly delineated one's place on the social pecking order. Those who are familiar with Jane Austen's relentless focus on formal balls, flouncy bouncy dresses, and quests for marriage with suitably wealthy men will feel quite at home with Fanny. However, where Austen would have Elizabeth Bennett question the propriety of one rule or another, Fanny would have Evelina accept the underlying ideology that upheld the legitimacy of the heavy-handed patriarchy. As Evelina leaves the security of the home of Reverend Villars, who cares for her as his ward, she learns that she may be the daughter of the wealthy and high-born Sir John Belmont. At the beginning of the novel, as at the end, Evelina is the pure innocent. If one denies her flatness of character, it is only because her goodness is heavily diluted with a priggish sense of righteousness. The bulk of the book lies in her quest to find her identity, but the enduring appeal lies in the satiric peeks and pokes that Fanny Burney took along the way. With the exception of the Reverend Villars, nearly everyone else is flawed to one degree. Madam Duval, Evelina's grandmother, is a perpetual victim of ridicule by others, which goes a long way toward explaining her odious character. Her biological father, Sir John, is a pompous oaf who acknowledges his kinship only after he has no choice but to do so. Lord Orville, whom Evelina eventually marries as the supposed hero, is about as full of life as Evelina is of any trait other than her annoying goodness. The lessons that Evelina learns about life from the start to finish are superficial. She learns only how to move about in circles sufficiently well enough to climb that social ladder. Inwardly, she is more knowledgeable, but hardly wiser. Contemporary readers loved EVELINA because they could see that it was a rich vein of oafs, fools, and prigs, all of whom were ready victims, like Madam Duval, to be taken down a peg or two. Modern readers generally read it for the descriptions of a society that are so tightly wound in social caste that they resemble the nonsense world of the cartoon. There might not be such a big difference between the two after all.

I found Evelina thoroughly enjoyable. Much like a Jane Austen novel in its plot (the heroine faces and overcomes countless difficulties and by doing so matures and moves toward marriage with the hero) Burney's novel has a darker side that Austen doesn't seem to explore. Evelina is often in dire situations in which men make very improper adavances. Because of the manners required of polite young women, she is powerless to extricate herself; yet because she does not extricate herself, her postition as a member of polite society is threatened. The trials and ultimate triumph of Evelina make for a very enjoyable book - one I would strongly recommend.

Evelina details the coming of age of a young girl and her introduction into late eighteenth century London society. The entirety of the story is told through a series of letters, generally between Evelina and her father. This epistolary format makes the work very reminiscent of the conduct books which were in vogue in the period and taught young girls how they `ought' to conduct themselves. Indeed the book may have been regarded as an appetizing format of moral instruction for its readers as it delivers the same message as conduct books but in a more appealing and palatable format.
Evelina may be somewhat frustrating to the modern female reader (as I found her at times) due to her tendency to have a bit too much of that `feminine delicacy' which was all the rage in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. There are many instances when she is `overcome' and faint of heart or to put it colloquially cannot stand on her own two feet. Evelina whilst endearing, often falls upon the assistance of the eligible (and naturally dashing and good looking) Lord Orville instead of relying on her own intuition, she is certainly no Elizabeth Bennet (from Austen's Pride and Prejudice).
When making my way through this novel I sometimes questioned just how innocent Evelina is as her `delicacy' seems to fade considerably when it comes to interations with her cousins and grandmother, people who she for the most part disowns in favour of a higher class set of acquaintances. It seems to be more socially convenient and indeed attractive for her not to be associated with those who are her real relations. However I am not sure if my contempt for her disregard of her family is the influence of my own contemporary perspective on the novel.
I found Evelina to be a nice love story, full of misunderstanding, tender feelings and of course a few scoundrels to be saved from. I am sure to the adept reader, there is probably much more to this novel, I always worry when I am reading books such as Evelina which are from a time so removed from my own, that I am missing huge contextual witticisms or ironies which make the book so much cleverer or give it additional layers of meaning, however, even in the absence of a deeper understanding of the late eighteenth century this is still a good read.

Fanny Burney had written a novel while still in her teens in which her heroine, Lady Evelyn, makes a journey to Paris and becomes entangled in an unfortunate set of circumstances that end in her death shortly after giving birth to her first child. Lady Belmont, nee Evelyn predicts that she will die soon and asks the noble and compassionate Reverend Villars to take care of her child till its eighteenth year.

Fanny Burney burned this novel and years later wrote Evelina which begins on a winter day when the child of Lady Belmont (Evelina) is in her sixteenth year. The Rev. Villars receives the news that Evelina's grandmother, Madame Duval, wishes to have her granddaughter sent to Paris to live with her. During the course of this story Evelina never travels to Paris but she does begin her journey to adulthood.

This novel explores the dark side of life but never loses its light-hearted, comical tone. Evelina Anville grows up to resemble her beautiful mother but her beauty which is described as angelic is only a shadow of her great inner beauty. Unfortunately Evelina's physical beauty is the cause of much of the trouble that she encounters in this novel; troubles that first begin in London when she frizzles her hair, puts on a party gown, and goes to her first ball.

A few months later while preparing to leave London Evelina writes, "I shall be very glad to quit this town." She travels back to her native Berry Hill thinking that her problems will go away once she is back home. But she finds that even in Berry Hill - an idealic land of happiness and innocence - her problems have followed her. The Rev. Villars saddened by the change he observes in Evelina states "I see but too plainly, that though Evelina is returned, -- I have lost my child!" And he attempts to end Evelina's distress by prophesying "...doubt not but that time will stand your friend, and all will end well."

Evelina has more adventures before the conclusion of this story. Part of the difficulties she encounters are due to the fact that her background is kept secret. Her father, Sir John Belmont, abandoned his wife and denied ever having been married to her. Evelina lives under a false last name and has all her life been "dependent, even for subsistence" on charity. So, though she is of noble birth she has suffered the indignities of the lower classes. In one of the saddest parts of the book when Evelina reveals her past to the man she loves she describes herself as an "outcast."

This novel is both a fairy tale and a black comedy.

Evelina was written in the eighteenth century and is very much a period piece. Part of the charm of this novel is that it is written as a series of letters - all ending with closings like "Your most obedient and most humble servant." The author's brilliant use of dialogue enlivens the characters. This novel is populated by many fascinating characters ranging from the motherly Rev. Villars, the virago Madame Duval, the sadistic Captain Mirvan, the two-faced Sir Clement Willoughby, the sardonic Mrs. Selwyn, and the noble hero Lord Orville.

Like a lively breeze that has survived for over two hundred years this masterpiece remains as fresh and vigorous today as it was when it was first published.