Monday, October 4, 2010

Fanny Burney (1752-1840)

  • English novelist and diarist
  • her novels are much admired by Jane Austen and center around the entry into the world of a young, beautiful, intelligent but inexperienced girl
Evelina

Characters:
  • Evelina
  • Sir John Belmont
  • Mr. Villars
  • Mrs. Mirvan
  • Lord Orville
  • Madame Duval
  • Sir Clement Willoughby
Plot summary:
  • Evelina is abandoned by her father, Sir John Belmont, who thought that he would receive a fortune from marriage. 
  • Evelina's mother dies in childbirth and she is raised by Mr. Villars, her guardian
  • Evelina grows up to be a beautiful and intelligent young woman
  • She travels to London to visit a friend, Mrs. Mirvan, and is introduced to society.
  • Evelina falls in love with Lord Orville but her relatives, in particular her vulgar grandmother, Madame Duval, and the attentions of Sir Clement Willoughby, all frustrate her happiness.
  • To attain her proper position in London society, Evelina's friends contact Sir Belmont to get him to acknowledge his daughter.
  • Belmont announces that he has had his daughter with him since her mother's death, but that child is revealed to be the nurse's own child. 
  • Belmont recognizes Evelina and she marries Lord Orville in the end. 

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