Evelina: Or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World: Authoritative Text, Contexts & Contemporary Reactions & Criticisms
- Book Review,
by Fanny Burney
From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Erica Bauermeister
In many ways, novels in the eighteenth century occupied the same position as today's soap operas. In Evelina there are rakes and heroes, farcical episodes, romantic misunderstandings, and serious social commentary - all described through the eighteenth-century convention of a series of letters to and from sweet, pure, beautiful Evelina Anville. Evelina has grown up in seclusion, her sole source of education her guardian, an elderly pastor. Her mother died soon after giving birth to Evelina; her father deserted her mother and has refused to acknowledge their marriage or their child. As the story begins, Evelina leaves her isolated life in the country and goes to London with friends. Once there, she tours the sights, encounters more potential lovers and husbands than seems possible, and meets long-lost relations who demonstrate such a lack of good breeding that poor Evelina is continually on the verge of physical collapse (although morally she stays as constant as Big Ben). This book has something for those who want to know more about London and England in the eighteenth century; something for those who love a good plot twist; something for those who wish for sharply drawn characters and social satire. And something for those of us who are simply curious: how did these people find the time to write such incredibly long letters and still do all the things they describe? -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.
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