Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Book Review: Evelina

For those familiar with my book reviews, you could be aware I seldom stray away from my beloved non-fiction.  But variety is the spice of life and fiction can't always be ignored especially in terms of classical fiction.  I am ashamed to say one of the classical fictions that had been a stranger to me was Fanny Burney's Evelina, or, the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World.  I was familiar with the spunky author but not her actual work so I was long, long overdue to give a Burney book a try.  The further and further I got into the book the more ashamed I was with myself for not reading Evelina sooner, where has this book been all my life!  I laughed, rolled my eyes, gasped with scandalized shock, and whined to a bewildered Lauren about how things were just not going in the happy ending direction that I so wanted.  It was fantastic.

 Evelina is the epistolary tale about a teenage orphan who has been kindly raised by a charitable vicar due to her mother's premature death and father's estrangement.  Living happily in the country all her life she is invited to leave her beloved foster father for the first time to be a guest of the Mirvan family.  An unexpected arrival of Captain Mirvan, the bulsterous patron of the family sends the Mirvans and Evelina with them to London where a Pandora's box of experiences now lay before the naive, but beautiful country girl who is now the attention to many of the men of London.  First there is Mr. Lovel, the macaroni whom Evelina instantly offends, then the dashing Lord Orville, and of course the tedious Sir Clement Willoughby who can't seem to leave Evelina alone, much to her chagrin.  But it is when Evelina's long lost French grandmother arrives looking for her, that Evelina finds her life has gotten more complicated than it ever was.  What's a girl to do?
Fans of Jan Austen will immediately see why Fanny Burney was an influence of the famous author.  Both lady-writers capture their scenery and immerse the reader into the story; you feel the main character's pain and rejoice with her victory.  The characters are varied from the stoic Evelina to the hilarious and mischievous Captain Mirvan or sarcastic Mrs Selwyn, who were both favourites of mine.  Any and every Austenite should pick up this book although its appeal crosses many genre's. It was my guy-friend, Joel who lent me his copy of Evelina; so I can honestly say I would recommend this book to anyone, which I've already been doing with great enthusiasm. 

There are a variety of editions Evelina which was originally published in 1778. I read Broadview's edition (which is now sold with an unfortunate cover rather than the appropriate Canaletto which graced mine) edited by Susan Kubica whose delightful footnotes added to my pleasure of the book.  There is also a free e-book edition offered by Girlebooks.

16 comments:

  1. I read this book in a class in college. I'm ashamed to admit that even with your overview I am having trouble recalling the story, I will just have to re-read it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this book. I didn't realize Broadview had changed the cover. Just looked at the new one. It's an unfortunate choice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. One my my favorites! And what were they thinking with that Broadview cover...?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I read this ages ago. I really should reread it. I think I would appreciate it now more.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This sounds like such an interesting book! I'll have to look for it. And what a lovely blog you have! This is my first visit :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Emily K, Laura, Seriously, what were they thinking! Who said, "This is a good idea."

    @Bearded Lady, It is just utterly charming in so many ways, although I can see myself not appreciating it as much if I had to read it in high school.

    @Heather, So happy you found the blog, and yes, do read the book; I have been raving about it to everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  7. One of my favorites! Glad you liked it too! I've wanted to read more of her works, but they all seem to be incredibly long. I have the patience if they're as good as Evelina but they wouldn't fit in my purse for reading at a cafe or on a train, so I've backed out. Are you going to give them a shot?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Same issue here!

    I was actually hoping I could find the books in their original volumes form. That way reading them would be like watching a wonderful miniseries on tv. It would also serve to make me feel more reading-accomplished.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I read Evelina earlier this year and enjoyed it very much. I've now made it about halfway through Cecilia--I get so caught up in the story that I have to stop every once in awhile. I wish I could invite her to stay with me, a refuge from her horrid guardians. Thanks for all your lovely posts. Katherine Louise

    ReplyDelete
  10. PS I'm so happy that I'm not the only one who reads these kinds of books! Thank you for giving us a place to talk. Katherine Louisse

    ReplyDelete
  11. I found Cecilia almost as good as Evelina (some like it better). Camilla is quite interesting too, but definitely not as good as the other two.

    All of her books are incredibly long. I read on ebook, so the bulk of the book isn't as intimidating as would be otherwise. I just notice around mid-way that it's been ages since I started reading the dang thing...

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's the encouragement I needed, there is no keeping me from other Burney works now!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was just thinking before looking at your blog "Maybe I should re-read Evelina, rather than start Cecilia"
    I enjoyed Evelina enormously the first time
    @Madame Constant, do you recommend Cecilia? It's been sitting on the shelf for months now due to its sheer size!
    VenetiaLanyon

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh this book seems so good! i must read it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Am reading this book for the first time for our "Becoming Jane Austen. Book Club". We meet in March 2014 for discussion. I have enjoyed reading "all things Evelina q" on your blog. So much information and the comments that people leave are so wonderful.

    ReplyDelete