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Fanny Burney, Evelina (1778)
Apr. 13th, 2014 08:03 pmI chose to read *Evelina* because I knew Fanny Burney was a forerunner of Jane Austen. What I did not expect was how much I would enjoy the novel.
*Evelina* is a light, frothy read. It’s fun. You can totally see how *Evelina* must have influenced Georgette Heyer, that indefagible picker up of Regency trifles, and helped create the sub-genre of Regency Romances.
The titular Evelina is a seventeen year old, raised in seclusion, with no knowledge of society. She is, of course, thrown head first into society and forced to make her own way. She encounters a villain (clearly Austen had read *Evelina* and decided that the perfect name for a bad guy was Willoughby) and a hero (who she marries) and suffers various social embarrassments.
Evelina’s problems stem from the fact that she is the unacknowledged *though legitimate* daughter of a nobleman. Once that problem is sorted out, and once she manages to ditch her embarrassing relations, everything is rosy.
I put the idea out to the universe that *Evelina* could be adapted into a teen comedy – like *Clueless*. It even has built in humour like when Willoughby visits her and everyone stands, then sits, then realises there aren’t enough chairs, and they stand again.
*Evelina* is a light, frothy read. It’s fun. You can totally see how *Evelina* must have influenced Georgette Heyer, that indefagible picker up of Regency trifles, and helped create the sub-genre of Regency Romances.
The titular Evelina is a seventeen year old, raised in seclusion, with no knowledge of society. She is, of course, thrown head first into society and forced to make her own way. She encounters a villain (clearly Austen had read *Evelina* and decided that the perfect name for a bad guy was Willoughby) and a hero (who she marries) and suffers various social embarrassments.
Evelina’s problems stem from the fact that she is the unacknowledged *though legitimate* daughter of a nobleman. Once that problem is sorted out, and once she manages to ditch her embarrassing relations, everything is rosy.
I put the idea out to the universe that *Evelina* could be adapted into a teen comedy – like *Clueless*. It even has built in humour like when Willoughby visits her and everyone stands, then sits, then realises there aren’t enough chairs, and they stand again.
