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Evelina

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Evelina

By: Frances Burney
Narrated by: Dame Judi Dench, Finty Williams, Geoffrey Palmer
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About this listen

Fanny Burney's wickedly funny satire follows the trials and romantic adventures of the young and beautiful Evelina as she tries to make her way through 18th-century Britain handicapped by her three great problems: being poor, being illegitimate - and being a girl.

Evelina was a raging best seller when it was first published in 1778 and is widely credited with being the first of the great British domestic novels. Burney was a direct influence on her immediate follower, Jane Austen, who used some of the final lines from Burney’s novel Cecilia for one of her own fairly successful novels: "...if to pride and prejudice you owe your miseries...to pride and prejudice you will also owe their termination".

Public Domain (P)2008 Silksoundbooks Limited Classics Drama & Plays Funny Witty
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I ask that because I found the book neither wickedly funny, nor a satire. Also, Evelina is not poor nor illegitimate. Instead, this is a straightforward story set in the highly mannered times of Regency England, concerning a girl who's father did not raise her (for mysterious reasons). Instead, she is gently raised by a loving parson and has proof of the marriage of her mother. She also has prospects and expectations of income from her grandmother, so no worries there!
But Evelina is very innocent, and unaware of her own beauty. We only become aware of her beauty through the reactions of other characters, male and female. The letter format of the whole book makes it very slow with a lack of any real action. And yet it is still fascinating and engaging.
It is also interesting to know that Jane Austen was inspired and influenced by the writer. This book has a similar feel to hers but without the humour and wit of Jan Austen's stories.
Best of all is the narration - perfect choices in well-loved actors.

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