Evelina, the first and best of Fanny Burney's novels, tells the story of a young girl, fresh from the provinces, whose initiation into the ways of the world is frequently painful, though it leads to self-discovery, moral growth, and, finally, happiness. Hilarious comedy and moral gravity make the novel a fund of entertainment and wisdom. Out of the graceful shifts from the idyllic to the near-tragic and realistic, Evelina emerges as a fully realized character. And out of its treatment of contrasts - the peace of the countryside and the cultured and social excitement of London and Briston, the crowd of life-like vulgarians and the elegant gentry - the novel reveals superbly the life and temper of eighteenth century England, as seen through the curiosity of its young heroine.
