--- product_id: 555226585 title: "Evelina" price: "E£ 1922" currency: EGP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/555226585-evelina store_origin: EG region: Egypt --- # Evelina **Price:** E£ 1922 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Evelina - **How much does it cost?** E£ 1922 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.eg](https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/555226585-evelina) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Evelina by Fanny Burnley is classic book. Review: Before Jane Austen - What an utterly remarkable book! It is was published in 1778 and is a milestone in the development of the novel. I didn't think the device of using Evelina's letters to tell the story really works. The letters in reply to Evelina were so short and so largely irrelevant to the development of the story that the correspondence sometimes seemed contrived and artificial, and on occasion I couldn't imagine how Evelina found the time to write her letters. However, if the novel form barely exists then I guess Frances Burney had to reveal Evelina's thoughts in a way that would seem plausible and familiar to the readers of the time. I enjoyed the book most for its description of genteel society in the 1770s, and how startlingly different this was from what Jane Austen portrayed half a century later. Most of the characters who appear are so selfish and self absorbed, so rude and unpleasant, and so utterly predatory that it suggets that the polite conversation and manners portayed by Jane Austen was no more than a set of stock phrases and gestures that had been learned for occasional use. It always seemed to me that Jane Austen's characters could perfectly well express themselves within those conventions, but in Evelina only the cardboard superhero Lord Orville is able to do that, and only later in the novel do we come across Mrs Selwyn to represent the self-confident and erudite women so beloved by Jane. Beyond that we find Evelina and most of the young women she meets to have few choices about what they are permitted to do or say, mere toys of the men they meet and the imperious older women of their circle. I had always thought that Jane Austen was describing a world that really did exist, at least for some, but Frances Burney made me wonder whether that later description was largely imaginary, a device to flatter her readers that they did possess a deeply embedded and admirable gentility rather than just a paper thin assemblage of phrases and conventions. It could of course all have changed in the time between Frances Burney and Jane Austen but I doubt it. I found the world that Frances Burney created for Evelina, in truth the world we see in Hogarth's satirical prints, much more convincing. Review: A true classic - The blurb on the back of the book is a great summary of what the novel is about. It describes the themes, the content and the importance of the work in the author's life and body of work. What it can't convey is the book's wonderfully engaging tone of voice. Evelina is an epistolary novel, which follows Evelina in her first year out in society. The letters are those written by Evelina, on the one hand, and her foster father Reverend Villars on the other. Evelina writes mainly to the Reverend Villars and her best friend Maria Mirvan, but there are also a few loose letters to others. Some other authors appear, but their letters are always included in the letters written by Evelina and Villars. The tone of the novel is fun and it is very readable despite its 18th century peculiarities of spelling and words. The novel is about class in both senses of the word: status and manners. You may be of a higher class, but still have no manners and vice versa. The story seems to illustrate that class is something you're born with, you either have it or you don't. If you're born without it, you can put on the mask but it doesn't make you genteel. Both Sir Clement and Mr. Smith are examples of this; Sir Clement is an unmannered oaf, who based on his title and status in society thinks he can behave as he likes and get away with it. Mr. Smith, in contrast is not born of the upper class and hopes to convince people that he has a claim to gentility by adopting upper class manners and opinions. Of course, he gets it wrong most of the time. Evelina is the opposite; seemingly born out if wedlock to a Lord, she is raised in less exalted circles than her birth would have entitled her to had she been legitimate. Despite this she possesses all the social niceties and virtues expected of her when entering society, although she is hampered by her great naivety. Both Sir Clement and Mr. Smith gave me the creeps, their almost obsessive pursuit of Evelina is disturbing, but shows the vulnerability of young women in society in the era. Reputation is key, something of which Evelina is well aware. When she's forced to go out in public with her low relations, she fears running into anyone she knows from higher up in society especially Mr. Orville. The vicarious shame Evelina feels for the Branghtons and Mrs Duval is at once hilarious and tragic. It a different sort of shame than the one she feels for the rudeness of Captain Mirvan and, to an extent, Sir Clement. The latter springs from her feeling they should know better, but being powerless to correct them, where with the Branghtons it is more shame to have to acknowledge the connection. With its romantic story, the hilarious shenanigans instigated by Captain Mirvan, its almost satiric look at class and society and, most of all, with its endearing protagonist, Evelina is a lovely read, which kept me thoroughly entertained. Evelina deserves to be read today and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the works of Jane Austen. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 1,384,374 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 7,460 in Fiction Classics (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.1 out of 5 stars 835 Reviews | ## Images ![Evelina - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/411J7mZvmyL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Before Jane Austen *by P***B on 30 March 2011* What an utterly remarkable book! It is was published in 1778 and is a milestone in the development of the novel. I didn't think the device of using Evelina's letters to tell the story really works. The letters in reply to Evelina were so short and so largely irrelevant to the development of the story that the correspondence sometimes seemed contrived and artificial, and on occasion I couldn't imagine how Evelina found the time to write her letters. However, if the novel form barely exists then I guess Frances Burney had to reveal Evelina's thoughts in a way that would seem plausible and familiar to the readers of the time. I enjoyed the book most for its description of genteel society in the 1770s, and how startlingly different this was from what Jane Austen portrayed half a century later. Most of the characters who appear are so selfish and self absorbed, so rude and unpleasant, and so utterly predatory that it suggets that the polite conversation and manners portayed by Jane Austen was no more than a set of stock phrases and gestures that had been learned for occasional use. It always seemed to me that Jane Austen's characters could perfectly well express themselves within those conventions, but in Evelina only the cardboard superhero Lord Orville is able to do that, and only later in the novel do we come across Mrs Selwyn to represent the self-confident and erudite women so beloved by Jane. Beyond that we find Evelina and most of the young women she meets to have few choices about what they are permitted to do or say, mere toys of the men they meet and the imperious older women of their circle. I had always thought that Jane Austen was describing a world that really did exist, at least for some, but Frances Burney made me wonder whether that later description was largely imaginary, a device to flatter her readers that they did possess a deeply embedded and admirable gentility rather than just a paper thin assemblage of phrases and conventions. It could of course all have changed in the time between Frances Burney and Jane Austen but I doubt it. I found the world that Frances Burney created for Evelina, in truth the world we see in Hogarth's satirical prints, much more convincing. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A true classic *by M***M on 8 January 2011* The blurb on the back of the book is a great summary of what the novel is about. It describes the themes, the content and the importance of the work in the author's life and body of work. What it can't convey is the book's wonderfully engaging tone of voice. Evelina is an epistolary novel, which follows Evelina in her first year out in society. The letters are those written by Evelina, on the one hand, and her foster father Reverend Villars on the other. Evelina writes mainly to the Reverend Villars and her best friend Maria Mirvan, but there are also a few loose letters to others. Some other authors appear, but their letters are always included in the letters written by Evelina and Villars. The tone of the novel is fun and it is very readable despite its 18th century peculiarities of spelling and words. The novel is about class in both senses of the word: status and manners. You may be of a higher class, but still have no manners and vice versa. The story seems to illustrate that class is something you're born with, you either have it or you don't. If you're born without it, you can put on the mask but it doesn't make you genteel. Both Sir Clement and Mr. Smith are examples of this; Sir Clement is an unmannered oaf, who based on his title and status in society thinks he can behave as he likes and get away with it. Mr. Smith, in contrast is not born of the upper class and hopes to convince people that he has a claim to gentility by adopting upper class manners and opinions. Of course, he gets it wrong most of the time. Evelina is the opposite; seemingly born out if wedlock to a Lord, she is raised in less exalted circles than her birth would have entitled her to had she been legitimate. Despite this she possesses all the social niceties and virtues expected of her when entering society, although she is hampered by her great naivety. Both Sir Clement and Mr. Smith gave me the creeps, their almost obsessive pursuit of Evelina is disturbing, but shows the vulnerability of young women in society in the era. Reputation is key, something of which Evelina is well aware. When she's forced to go out in public with her low relations, she fears running into anyone she knows from higher up in society especially Mr. Orville. The vicarious shame Evelina feels for the Branghtons and Mrs Duval is at once hilarious and tragic. It a different sort of shame than the one she feels for the rudeness of Captain Mirvan and, to an extent, Sir Clement. The latter springs from her feeling they should know better, but being powerless to correct them, where with the Branghtons it is more shame to have to acknowledge the connection. With its romantic story, the hilarious shenanigans instigated by Captain Mirvan, its almost satiric look at class and society and, most of all, with its endearing protagonist, Evelina is a lovely read, which kept me thoroughly entertained. Evelina deserves to be read today and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the works of Jane Austen. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Almost like Austen *by R***H on 17 April 2026* Amazing story for its time. Quite an eye opener and very funny in places --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/555226585-evelina](https://www.desertcart.com.eg/products/555226585-evelina) --- *Product available on Desertcart Egypt* *Store origin: EG* *Last updated: 2026-07-21*