Frances Burney – författare

'Lord Orville did me the honour to hand me to the coach, talking all the way of the honour I had done him! O these fashionable people!'Frances Burney's first and most enduringly popular novel is a vivid, satirical, and seductive account of the pleasures and dangers of fashionable life in late eighteenth-century London. As she describes her heroine's entry into society, womanhood and, inevitably, love, Burney exposes the vulnerability of female innocence in an image-conscious and often cruel world where social snobbery and sexual aggression are played out in the public arenas of pleasure-gardens, theatre visits, and balls. But Evelina's innocence also makes her a shrewd commentator on the excesses and absurdities of manners and social ambitions - as well as attracting the attention of the eminently eligible Lord Orville.Evelina, comic and shrewd, is at once a guide to fashionable London, a satirical attack on the new consumerism, an investigation of women's position in the late eighteenth century, and a love story. The new introduction and full notes to this edition help make this richness all the more readily available to a modern reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Penguin English Library Edition of Evelina by Frances Burney'O Sir, how much uneasiness must I suffer, to counterbalance one short morning of happiness!'In this comic and sharply incisive satire of excess and affectations, beautiful young Evelina falls victim to the rakish advances of Sir Clement Willoughby on her entrance to the world of fashionable London. Colliding with the manners and customs of a society she doesn't understand, she finds herself without hope that she should ever deserve the attention of the man she loves. Frances Burney's first novel brilliantly sends up eighteenth-century society - and its opinions of women - while enticingly depicting its delights.The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Leaving the secluded home of her guardian for the first time, beautiful Evelina Anville is captivated by her new surroundings in London's beau monde - and in particular by the handsome, chivalrous Lord Orville. But her enjoyment soon turns to mortification at the hands of her vulgar and capricious grandmother, and the rakish Sir Clement Willoughby, who torments the naïve young woman with his unwanted advances. And while her aristocratic father refuses to acknowledge her legitimacy, Evelina can hold no hope of happiness with the man she loves. Published anonymously in 1778, Frances Burney's epistolary novel brought her instant fame when the secret of its authorship was revealed. With its ingenious combination of romance and satire, comedy and melodrama, Evelina is a sparkling depiction of the dangers and delights of fashionable society.

Novelist and playwright Frances (Fanny) Burney, 1752-1840, was also a prolific writer of journals and letters, beginning with the diary she started at fifteen and continuing until the end of her eventful life. From her youth in London high society to a period in the court of Queen Charlotte and her years interned in France with her husband Alexandre d'Arblay during the Napoleonic Wars, she captured the changing times around her, creating brilliantly comic and candid portraits of those she encountered - including the 'mad' King George, Samuel Johnson, Sir Joshua Reynolds, David Garrick and a charismatic Napoleon Bonaparte. She also describes, in her most moving piece, undergoing a mastectomy at fifty-nine without anaesthetic. Whether a carefree young girl or a mature woman, Fanny Burney's forthright, intimate and wickedly perceptive voice brings her world powerfully to life.

Fanny Burney's Evelina was written in secret and published anonymously in 1778. The story of a young woman entering a society that is seemingly designed to threaten her success, Evelina is an example of the epistolary genre popular in the 18th Century.

Though she is an orphan, Cecilia Beverly is an heiress to a small fortune, which she may keep under the stipulation from her uncle that when Cecilia marries, she will keep her Beverly name, asking her future husband to adopt it as well. After she leaves for London to stay with her guardians, she realizes that each of the three families left to care for her are greedy and vain people. Before arriving to the first pair of guardians, the Harrels, Cecilia visits their friend, Mr. Monckton, for breakfast. Mr. Monckton is stunned when he meets the beautiful, intelligent and wealthy Miss Beverly and is upset that he has married for money instead of waiting to meet a woman like Cecilia. Cecilia knows nothing of his admirations and attends a masquerade ball thrown by Mrs. Harrel. At the masquerade she is unable to meet people because a man dressed as a black demon is following and chasing others away. After she is rescued by a mysterious man masquerading as White Domino, it becomes a pattern in her social life. This man rescues Cecilia again at the opera when two men are fighting over her. She learns his identity is Mortimer Delvile and after spending time with his family, Cecilia begins to fall in love. Unfortunately, Mortimer believes she is engaged to one of the many suitors trying to win her favor. Cecilia must overcome the manipulation and extortion from her guardians and dangerous admirers in order to protect her fortune and find real love. First published in 1782, Cecilia; or Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney is an exciting and wonderful romance. With themes of true love, class, and morality, Cecilia; or Memoirs of an Heiress satirizes the society it is set in. With captivating characters and a compelling plot, this 18th century romance is timeless. This edition of Cecilia; or, Memoirs of an Heiress by Frances Burney features an eye-catching new cover design and is presented in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition is accessible and appealing to contemporary audiences, restoring Cecilia: or, Memoirs of an Heiress to modern standards while preserving the tender romance and satirical genius of Frances Burney’s work.