Evelina
Evelina or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World is a novel written by English author Fanny Burney and first published in 1778. Although published anonymously, its authorship was revealed by the poet George Huddesford in what Burney called a "vile poem."
In this 3-volume epistolary novel, title character Evelina is the unacknowledged, but legitimate daughter of a dissipated English aristocrat, thus raised in rural seclusion until her 17th year. Through a series of humorous events that take place in London and the resort town of Hotwells, near Bristol, Evelina learns to navigate the complex layers of 18th-century society and earn the love of a distinguished nobleman. This sentimental novel, which has notions of sensibility and early romanticism, satirizes the society in which it is set and is a significant precursor to the work of Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth, whose novels explore many of the same issues.
Plot summary
Podcasts:
Evelina
by: Bing CrosbyFar away places with strange-sounding names
Far away over the sea
Those far away places with the strange-sounding names
Are callin', callin' me
Goin' to China or maybe Siam
I wanna see for myself
Those far away places I've been readin' about
In a book that I took from the shelf
I start getting restless whenever I hear
The whistle of a train
I pray for the day I can get underway
And look for those castles in Spain
They call me a dreamer, well, maybe I am
But I know that I'm burnin' to see
Those far away places with the strange-sounding names
Callin', callin' me