18th century teen angst ... I had no idea such novels existed at this time.
Just like teen angst books of today, I can't sympathize ... just horrible.

Adrianne ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Burney skillfully drew her characters even though she was writing at quite a young age. ( )

One of the first successful epistolary novels Evelina by Fanny Burney is a more than usually wonderful example of 18th century virtue novels. The main character, the virtuous and artless Evelina who is at the mercy of her more worldly, more sophisticated friends finds herself thrown into the thick of London society and beset by trouble at every turn. The poor girl finds herself the victim of unwanted romantic pursuit/advances, and various attempts by nefarious characters to sully her honour, stain her reputation, and bring scandal to her and her friends and family. It's a story about class and the evils of a decadent life, but also of the value of virtue. This novel is a delight to read. It's pleasant but not saccharine and it's very very well written. I loved it and I think you will too. ( )