First published in 1778, this novel of manners tells the story of Evelina, a young woman raised in rural obscurity who is thrust into London’s fashionable society at the age of eighteen. There, she experiences a sequence of humorous events at balls, theatres, and gardens, that teach her how quickly she must learn to navigate social snobbery and veiled aggression. Evelina, the embodiment of the feminine ideal for her time, undergoes numerous trials and grows in confidence with her abilities and...
First published in 1778, this novel of manners tells the story of Evelina, a young woman raised in rural obscurity who is thrust into London’s fashionable society at the age of eighteen. There, she experiences a sequence of humorous events at balls, theatres, and gardens, that teach her how quickly she must learn to navigate social snobbery and veiled aggression. Evelina, the embodiment of the feminine ideal for her time, undergoes numerous trials and grows in confidence with her abilities and...
This eBook edition of «The Complete Novels of Fanny Burney» has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. "Evelina" is the unacknowledged, but legitimate daughter of a dissipated English aristocrat, thus raised in rural seclusion until her 17th year. Through a series of humorous events that take place in London and the resort town of Hotwells, near Bristol, Evelina learns to navigate the complex layers of 18th-century society and earn the...
Frances Burney (1752-1840) was an English diarist, playwright and novelist. She was self-educated and began writing from what she called her «scribblings» at the young age of ten. In total, she wrote eight plays, four novels, one biography and twenty volumes of letters and journals. She is recognized as a literary forerunner to prominent authors who came after her including William Makepeace Thackeray and Jane Austen. The foundation on which Burney's popularity sprang rests with the...