Editing Frances Burney (section)

==''Evelina''==
[[File:Evelina vol II 1779.jpg|thumb|''[[Evelina]]'', Volume II, 4th edition (1779)|alt=Frontispiece of volume two of fourth edition of Evelina]]{{Main|Evelina}}
Burney's ''[[Evelina]] or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World'' was published anonymously in 1778 without her father's knowledge or permission, by Thomas Lowndes, who voiced an interest after reading its first volume and agreed to publish it upon receipt of the finished work. The novel had been rejected by a previous publisher, [[Robert Dodsley]], who declined to print an anonymous work.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica 451">''Encyclopædia Britannica'', p. 451.</ref> Burney, who worked as her father's [[amanuensis]], had copied the manuscript in a "disguised hand" to prevent any identification of the book with her family, thinking that her own handwriting might be recognised by a publisher. Burney's second attempt to publish ''Evelina'' involved the help of her eldest brother James, who posed as its author to Lowndes. Inexperienced at negotiating with a publisher, he only extracted twenty guineas (£21) as payment for the manuscript.

The novel was a critical success, with praise from respected persons, including the statesman [[Edmund Burke]] and the literary critic [[Samuel Johnson]].<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica 450" /> It was admired for its comic view of wealthy English society and realistic portrayal of working-class London dialects. It is known today as a satire.<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/evelina-or-history-young-ladys-entrance-world |accessdate=16 July 2021 |title=Evelina; or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World |website=Encyclopedia.com}}</ref> It was even discussed by characters in another epistolary novel of the time: [[Elizabeth Blower]]'s ''George Bateman'' (1782).<ref>Jacqueline Pearson: "Mothering the Novel. Frances Burney and the Next Generations of Women Novelists". ''CW3 Journal'' [https://www2.shu.ac.uk/corvey/cw3journal/Issue%20one/pearson.html Retrieved 20 September 2015.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022113342/https://www2.shu.ac.uk/corvey/cw3journal/Issue%20one/pearson.html |date=22 October 2018 }}</ref> Burney's father read public reviews of ''Evelina'' before learning that the author was his daughter. Although the act of publication was radical for its time, he was impressed by the favourable reactions and largely supported her. He certainly saw social advantages in having a successful writer in the family.<ref name="Commire, Klezmer 229">Commire, Klezmer, p. 229.</ref>

=== Critical reception ===
Written in [[Epistolary novel|epistolary]] form just as this was reaching its height of popularity, ''Evelina'' portrays the English upper middle class through a 17-year-old woman who has reached marriageable age. It was a [[Bildungsroman]] ahead of its time. ''Evelina'' pushed boundaries, for female protagonists were still "relatively rare" in that genre.<ref name="foo-bar">Doody, p. 45.</ref> Comic and witty, it is ultimately a satire of the oppressive masculine values that shaped a young woman's life in the 18th century, and of other forms of social hypocrisy.<ref name="Commire, Klezmer 228" /> ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' calls it a "landmark in the development of the novel of manners".<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica 450" />

In choosing to narrate the novel through letters written by the protagonist, Burney made use of her own writing experience. This course has won praise from critics past and present, for the direct access it provides to events and characters, and the narrative sophistication it demonstrates in linking the roles of narrator and heroine.<ref name="Commire, Klezmer 229"/> The authors of ''Women in World History'' argue that she identifies difficulties faced by women in the 18th century, especially those on questions of romance and marriage.<ref name="Commire, Klezmer 229"/> She is seen as a "shrewd observer of her times and a clever recorder of its charms and its follies". What critics have consistently found interesting in her writing is the introduction and careful treatment of a female protagonist, complete with character flaws, "who must make her way in a hostile world." These are recognisable also as features of Jane Austen's writing, and show Burney's influence on her work.<ref name="Commire, Klezmer 228"/> Furthermore, she sought to put to use the epistolary form espoused periodically by Burney, as seen in ''[[Lady Susan]]'' and to a lesser extent ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=masters-theses |title=Jane Austen's use of the epistolary method |last=Bender |first=Barbara Tavss |access-date=5 April 2017}}</ref>

As a testament to its popularity, the novel went through four immediate editions. In 1971, ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' stated of ''Evelina'': "Addressed to the young, the novel has a quality perennially young."<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica 451"/>