Evelina

Evelina: Or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World

First edition title page for Vol II
Author	Frances Burney
Illustrator	Thomas Lowndes (publisher)
Language	English
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Thomas Lowndes
Publication date	1778
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	NA

Evelina: Or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World is a novel written by English author Fanny Burney in 1778.

In this epistolary novel in three volumes, Evelina, the title character, is the unacknowledged daughter of a dissipated English aristocrat. Eighteen years before the story begins, Evelina's father, Sir John Belmont, refused to acknowledge his marriage to her mother, Caroline Evelyn, after he failed to secure her sizeable fortune. Evelina's mother dies in childbirth, and Evelina is raised in seclusion by the Reverend Villars, her guardian, in Berry Hill.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler In the first volume, when Evelina grows up to be a beautiful and intelligent young woman, she travels to London with her friends, the Mirvans. She is introduced to society and falls in love with the handsome Lord Orville. However, her ill-bred relatives, and in particular her vulgar grandmother, Madame Duval, as well as the obstinate attentions of the duplicitous Sir Clement Willoughby frustrate her happiness.

In the second volume, in an effort to secure her proper station in society, Evelina's friends in Howard Grove, where she is now staying, contact Sir John Belmont, hoping he will finally acknowledge his daughter. This is important because Rev. Villars could not equip her with the dowry (called "fortune") she needs to find a proper husband. Belmont repulses them, announcing that, far from abandoning his daughter, he has raised her since her mother's death. Evelina is requested to visit the Branghtons in London and is forced to see the low-life side of the town. This family and their friends Mrs Smith and Brown, living in Holborn, are unbearably ignorant of decent behaviour. Though Evelina is embarrassed by the Branghton's and Duval's impertinence, it makes Lord Orville visit Evelina, showing his high esteem for her. They exploit and abuse her relation to him. The only different event is her saving Mr. Macartney from what she suspects to be an attempted suicide (vol. ii, letter xii), who is in distress since his mother told him that the father of his beloved was his own father – and he had accidentally asked for the hand of his own sister (ii, letter xx). When she escapes to Berry Hill, she receives an impertinent letter signed by Lord Orville. In it, he relays inappropriate feelings of regard for her in an insulting and demeaning manner. After a few months, she confides in the reverend, who informs her that the best action would have been to send the letter back to Lord Orville, unmistakably showing her distaste at his uncalled for conduct.

The third volume starts with Lord Merton, a womanizer, chasing Evelina in Clifton, Bristol. She is told that this Lord is about to marry no other than the sister of Lord Orville, Lady Louisa Larpent. When both meet again, the letter is soon forgotten, as she writes to her grandfather. They spend much time together, and although their company is aristocracy now, Evelina recognizes the same poor manners of the people around her, only in different appearance.

Suddenly Mr. Macartney appears, and Evelina is unable to explain his delicate issues to Lord Orville, who is disappointed and thinks it might be a secret lover. They settle the issue, but Reverend Villars recommends she leaves Lord Orville for good not to be blinded by him, who is very likely to be using her ill (“this is not an age in which we may trust to appearances, and imprudence is much sooner regretted than repaired”). Lord Merton, drunk after winning a disgusting old women’s race, seizes Evelina and affronts the entire house. Since all others are incapable of interfering with a lord, only Lord Orville can rescue her. They go to a dance where she meets the young daughter (and heiress) of Sir John Belmont, her father; she had thought to have been his only child and is shocked.

Finally, she is able to convince Lord Orville her meeting Macartney is conform with “her own purity”, and he invites him to Mrs. Beaumont’s. Macartney tells her the heiress is the very same sister he had married, and they discover they are siblings.

She is torn between the “plain” – and open – advances of Sir Clement, with Mrs. Selwyn’s assistance, and the “gentleness of manners” of Lord Orville, who is in despair of her reluctance to talk to him. Sir Clement forces her to go to an assembly (i.e. a ball) against her will and thus she hurts Lord Orville.

Villars encloses a letter (vol. iii, letter xiii) of her mother (Caroline) to her father (John), and sends her to meet him, Sir John Belmont, now that they have learned he had arrived in London. Before she can, Sir Clement’s provocation lead to a fight with Lord Orville Mrs. Selwyn settles. Evelina overhears the argument and loves him even more, though she obeys her patron not to be too close, or open, to him. Later, he confesses his love openly (“I esteem and I admire you above all human beings! you are the friend to whom my soul is attached as to its better half! you are the most amiable, the most perfect of women! and you are dearer to me than language has the power of telling.” Vol. iii, letter xv), whereupon she faints. They realize that her previous issue of the inadequate letter was in vain, and he had never received her letter or written one to her. Sir Clement snatches the letter from her and destroys it, mad that he will not win her.

Evelina explains to Macartney and Orville the former is her brother; when Mrs. Selwyn is rejected by Sir Belmont, Evelina tells Orville about her rejecting father. She meets him and he immediately recognizes her as his wife’s daughter. He runs away. Mrs. Clinton realizes Evelina’s nurse, Dame Green, must have exchanged her own child with Evelina right after her birth. Dame Green confesses the scheme, and Sir John acknowledges Evelina as daughter and heiress; he settles that his former daughter, now Miss Polly Green, shall marry Mr. Macartney (now that they are not siblings any more), and Evelina (publicly daughter of Sir John Belmont) Lord Orville. Sir John reads the final letter from his wife and falls into agony. Lord Orville insists that Miss Green shall be co-heiress of Sir John (the wife’s property and inheritances belong to the husband until the 19th century, so Orville abdicates some of their inheritance), and Sir Clement writes a letter to confess the mischevious, false letter from Orville had been written by himself. Lord Orville, overrun with the events, says though he was supposed to enquire after her family (i.e. her “fortune”), he was “divested with prudence, left with nothing but love.” (III,xx) Template:Endspoiler

Written in secret over a period of several years, Evelina was published anonymously in the winter of 1778. Only after the novel became an enormous success, and garnered glowing reviews, did Frances, notoriously shy, acknowledge her authorship.

The novel was a great success in Burney's own lifetime, translated into multiple languages, and a number of print editions. Her father, Charles Burney, was a friend of the leading men of the age, and Frances herself knew most of these distinguished writers and artists. None of her subsequent novels achieved the success of Evelina, but it was very well received, and the novel compares favorably with the early novels of Jane Austen.

A great deal of attention has been focused on Evelina since the 1980s, as Burney has begun to reach new audiences and earn critical reappraisal. Some critics have seen the novel as autobiography, as Burney felt unacknowledged by her famously strict father.

Review

The first volume contains 31 letters, the second 30, the last 23; in this article, quotes are referring to volume and letter numbers, though the Gutenberg edition below adds all letter numbers, therefore e.g. letter ii of volume ii is letter 33 of the novel.

It is a typical sentimental novel with notions of sensibility and early romanticism.

Characters

Miss Evelina Anville – daughter of Lady Caroline Belmont (born Caroline Evelyn) and Sir John Belmont; Evelina is the novel's main character. Through a variety of letters which convey the story, she summarizes specific experiences of her life. Called a (social) “nobody” by the fop Mr. Lovel, "a very pretty modest-looking girl" by our Lord Orville, and an "angel" by one Sir Clement in the first volume, we bear witness to all her trials and tribulations, which these three men all take part in. Described as beautiful, gentile, intelligent, genuine, innocent, etc. she instantly captures the hearts and notice of all those around her.

Reverend Arthur Villars - The man who raised Evelina as his own, and refers to her as the "child of his heart". He was her tutor and gaurdian. Taking in the disgraced Lady Belmont, he vowed to be the protector of her child. He was her soul family and priciple friend. He is her guidance and confidant throughout this novel.

Sir Clement Willoughby - a minor nobleman (baronet). Evelina meets him at the infamous Ridotto during her first visit to London. A most steadfast pursuer of Evelina's good favor, he tries to accomplish this through very forward courting, which usually consist of flamboyant proclamations and flattering speeches. Evelina, who always becomes discomforted by his actions, tolerates him none the less. He is much more educated than the very low-bred Mr. Smith and the Branghtons, which is only a nice way of describing how artful he is. He reacts to them with an irony they could not understand. He also accompanies Captain Mirvan whenever he assaults, provokes, or teases Madam Duval.

Lord Orville - a fine gentleman (and earl) who rescues Evelina on several occasions, including from the advances by a one Sir Clement. Lord Orville instantly falls into her good graces simply by conducting himself in a manner befitting his rank and person. He is open and engaging, gentle, attentive, and expressive. He seems to her to be the only person in London worth raising her thoughts to in a positive light, and it is through him that she finds her life's happiness.

Captain Mirvan - a captain in the navy, now retired, who despises foreigners and assaults Madam Duval constantly. Husband to Mrs. Mirvan and father of Maria, he is at times a source of much embarrassment to his family.

Mrs. Mirvan - a woman who shows much compassion and concern for our Evelina. She takes very good care of Evelina when in London and while she stays at Howard Grove. She treats her as though she is her second child.

Miss Maria Mirvan - a childhood friend to Evelina, and a true companion whom she confided all to. They are the very best of friends.

Madam Duval - noblewoman from Paris who wants to take Evelina to France, away from English influence in general and Rev. Villars in particular. She is very stubborn and ignorant, and repugnant to Evelina. She always rises late in the morning, which shows her poor behavior, and believes anything she is told although she keeps realizing her errors. However, she leaves her entire heritage to Evelina in the end as she promised.

M. Dubois - Monsieur Dubois speaks only French and some broken English; he is a victim of mischevious plays by many people, which raises Evelinas compassion, and his interest in her.

The Branghtons - a low-bred family whom Evelina must associate with when on her second visit to London. Evelina grows impatient of their crass behaviour and embarrassed to be thought of their party, especially when met by Lord Orville and in their company. They are her London relations and a family very interested in her and her potential wealth.

Mr. Macartney - a very tragic character of a man. He is thought to have wanted to commit suicide and thinks of Evelina as an angel when she prevents him from doing so. The truth was that he was planning to rob some unsuspecting individual in order to alleviate his financial stress. He reveals to her that by an Oedipusesque development, his love turned out to be his sister, which ruined him first mentally, then financially.

Lord Merton – Having first met Evelina at an assembly, he is reintroduced to her as the fiancé of Lord Orville's sister in Bristol. Along with his companion, Mr. Coverly, Lord Merton reveals his character as one of gaming and gambling. Evelina is especially disgusted by his “liberty”, i.e. attempts to have her as a lover although his future wife is in the same house. His limited abilities are satirised by Mrs. Selwyn: “a senator of the nation! A member of the noblest parliament in the world!-and yet neglect the art of oratory?” (III, xvi)

Release details

• 1778, UK, Thomas Lowndes (ISBN NA), pub date ? ? 1778, hardback - in three volumes (first edition)
• 1994, UK, Penguin Books (ISBN 0140433473), pub date 31 March 1994, paperback
• 1997, USA, Bedford/St. Martin's (ISBN 0-412-09729-8), paperback (edited by Kristina Straub)
• 1998, USA, W W Norton (ISBN 0393971589), pub date 4 March 1998, paperback
• 2000, Canada, Broadview Press (ISBN 155111237X), pub date 15 May 2000, paperback
• 2002, UK, Oxford World Classics (ISBN 0-19-284031-2), pub date 30 April 2002, paperback (edited by Edward Bloom with annotations Vivien Jones)
• 2003, USA, Indypublish.com (ISBN 1404359885), pub date 18 June 2003, hardback
• 2006, USA, The Echo Library (ISBN 1406800910), pub date 20 June 2006, hardback

Sources

• Frances Burney, Evelina, or, the history of a young lady's entrance into the world : authoritative text, contexts and contemporary reactions, criticism, Edited by Stewart J. Cooke, New York [u.a.]: Norton, 1998, ISBN 0-393-97158-9
• Martha Gleaton Brown, Fanny Burney's three eighteenth-century romances : "Evelina", "Cecelia", and "Camilla", Greensboro, N. C., 1980
• Eighteenth Century Literature Guides

External links

• Evelina at Project Gutenberg