Evelina - Paperback

by Frances Burney (Author), Vivien Jones (Introduction by), Edward A. Bloom (Editor)

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.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Back Jacket

EVELINA TELLS THE STORY OF A YOUNG GIRL, FRESH FROM THE PROVINCES, WHOSE INITIATION INTO THE WAYS OF THE WORLD IS FREQUENTLY PAINFUL, THOUGH IT LEADS TO SELF-DISCOVERY, MORAL GROWTH, AND FINALLY, HAPPINESS. THIS NOVEL REVEALS SUPERBLY THE LIFE AND TEMPER OF EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ENGLAND, AS SEEN THROUGH THE CURIOSITY OF IT YOUNG HEROINE.