Evelina

Introduction

Fanny Burney’s Evelina; or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World is a fascinating and funny look at high society in late eighteenth-century Britain. Through a quite extensive collection of letters, the story unfolds and the reader is welcomed into the evolving world of a young, innocent country girl as she learns the ways of her society through misunderstandings and embarrassing social errors. Evelina’s innocence is matched in equal measure with the lies and pretenses of egocentric characters who make fools of themselves in their attempts to win influence.

With twists and turns, misunderstandings, and false identities, Burney tells a story that is reminiscent of Shakespearean comedies. When Evelina; or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World was first published, Kate Chisholm writes in an article for the Guardian, “everyone wanted to know who had written such a wickedly funny satire on fashionable society.” This book marked the beginning of Burney’s very successful career as a writer, as well as the birth of one of England’s most famous female novelists. Her books were the talk of the town, and people impatiently waited for each new book to appear. Burney’s writing was, according to Lauren Goldstein, writing for Time Europe, “more widely read than Jane Austen’s” during her time.

Evelina; or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World is the kind of book that is hard to put down. Even if the reader suspects how the book will end, the writing is so compelling and the story so convoluted that trying to figure out what will happen next keeps the reader turning the pages. The book was audacious in Burney’s time. Today it is a fascinating look into the eighteenth century through the eyes of an intelligent and witty woman.

Evelina Summary

Letter I–Letter IX
Fanny Burney’s story Evelina; or, The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World opens with a letter from Lady Howard to the Reverend Arthur Villars in which she complains about the rudeness of Madame Duvall. Lady Howard then continues the letter inviting Evelina to stay at Howard Grove for a brief period of time. The reverend agrees to send Evelina to Lady Howard so she can enjoy the company of Maria Mirvan, Lady Howard’s granddaughter and a childhood friend of Evelina’s. Shortly after Evelina arrives, Lady Howard sends another note to the reverend asking his permission to allow Evelina to accompany Maria and her mother to London to await the arrival of Captain Mirvan, Maria’s father, who is returning from sea duty. The reverend agrees and Mrs. Mirvan, Maria, and Evelina set off for London.

Letter X–Letter XXIII
During their stay in London, Mrs. Mirvan decides to take the two young girls to a ball. At the ball, Evelina dances with Lord Orville. This is the first ball that Evelina ever attended, and she makes many social errors, including insulting a man with whom she refuses to dance and becoming somewhat dumbfounded by the presence of Lord Orville. Maria overhears Lord Orville describe Evelina as “a poor weak girl!” However, when the man with whom she refused to dance refers to Evelina as being ill bred, Lord Orville comes to her defense and states “that elegant face can never be so vile a mask!”

Evelina is somewhat intrigued by Lord Orville, but she does not like that he has referred to her as a weak girl, and every time she sees him afterward, she tries to improve his image of her, but she always finds herself at a loss for words because she is so awed by him.

While in London, the Mirvans accidentally bump into Madame Duvall who is on her way to stay with Lady Howard. Captain Mirvan makes fun of Madame Duvall at every opportunity. Madame Duvall, for her part, continually exposes her lack of social grace and intelligence. Eventually, everyone returns to Howard Grove.

Letter XXIV–Letter XXXIX
Back at Howard Grove, Evelina remarks that the atmosphere has changed so much with the presence of the Captain and his constant disapproval of Madame Duvall that she is uncomfortable there. Madame Duvall then informs her that she is writing to Sir John Belmont to find out if he would acknowledge Evelina as his daughter. If all else fails, Madame Duvall is willing to bring a lawsuit against Sir Belmont, something that everyone at Howard Grove finds disgraceful except for Madame Duvall. To soften Madame Duvall’s crude attempts to win Sir Belmont’s support of his daughter, Lady Howard writes a letter to Sir Belmont, asking that he allow Evelina to visit him. Sir Belmont writes back, refusing.

Sir Clement Willoughby visits Howard Grove and continues his aggressive pursuit of Evelina. Willoughby also schemes with the Captain to further antagonize Madame Duvall, by sending her off on a wild goose chase for her companion Monsieur DuBois and then faking a robbery of some of her goods. Madame Duvall leaves Howard Grove and visits with the Reverend Villars in an attempt to get him to concede to her taking Evelina back to Paris with her. In concession, he does agree to allow Evelina to stay with Madame Duvall for a short while in London.

Letter XL–Letter LVI
Evelina stays with Madame Duvall in London. She remarks that the London she had visited earlier with Mrs. Mirvan and Maria is totally different from the London that she...