Evelina: or, A Young Lady's Entrance into the World. In a series of letters (Broadview Editions) - Softcover

Longtime admirers of Frances Burney's delightful eighteenth-century comedy of manners, Evelina, will no doubt rejoice in Broadview's impressive new edition of the work, here ably introduced and annotated by Susan Kubica Howard. Readers new to the novel have a treat in store. Evelina remains, quite simply, the most accomplished and insouciant comic novel written by an Englishwoman before Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and coruscates anew in the handsome presentation it is given here." - Terry Castle, Stanford University "Susan Kubica Howard's research is impressively detailed, yet accessibly presented so that the edition will serve both seasoned scholars in the field and readers who may be encountering Evelina for the first time." - Audrey Bilger, Claremont McKenna College

The reputation of Frances Burney (1752-1840) was largely established with her first novel, Evelina. Published anonymously in 1778, it is an epistolary account of a sheltered young woman's entrance into society and her experience of family. Its comedy ranges from the violent practical joking reminiscent of Smollett's fiction to witty repartee that influenced Austen. The Broadview edition is based on the second edition of the novel (1779), which incorporates Burney's revisions and corrections. Its appendices include contemporary reviews of Evelina as well as eighteenth-century works on the family and on comedy