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pikaharlow98's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
jesforeverlostinbooks's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Ok so this classic is a bit long & overly dramatic but it had me giggling throughout. It might have been because of the narration… which was fantastic! The audio I listened to was read by Orson Scott Card, Emily Rankin, Stefan Rudnicki & Gabrielle de Cuir. This classic was a favorite of Jane Austen’s… it’s crazy to think that I’ve now read a book that Jane Austen read & loved. This is an epistolary novel & is mostly told from Evelina’s perspective. Evelina is the unacknowledged but legitimate daughter of an English aristocrat but she is basically an orphan when her mother dies at her birth she has been raised by Reverend Arthur Villars… he made sure she was educated & loved. She is beautiful but she is timid, naive & somewhat clueless about the world. As she enters society she makes one blunder after another trying to find her footing. I loved watching her grow in confidence in her own abilities & discernment So many of these characters are crazy, dramatic & so over the top you can’t help but laugh. At times I got frustrated with all the miscommunication but it has a satisfying ending and if you like classics it’s worth the read.
ninjamuse's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Bullying, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Blood
rachel__anne's review against another edition
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mphoebeg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emilia_lodge's review against another edition
2.5
Had to read. Very long, had to read quick - tried to trick myself into just thinking it was Bridgerton
novabird's review against another edition
3.0
Evelina, is an 18th century coming of age story told within about 7 months. The plot is a simple and frequented by small events of some concern balanced by her comedic touch all which further Evelina's development towards adulthood. The word 'prudence,' is thought of as an ugly word because its association with, 'prude.' However, we get a much better idea of what is meant by prudence when Evelina writes to Mr Villars;
Alas my dearest Sir, that my reflections should always be too late to serve me! dearly, indeed, do I purchase experience! and much I fear I shall suffer yet more severely, from the heedless indiscretion of my temper, ere I attain prudence and consideration, which by foreseeing distant consequences, may rule and direct in present exigencies.
Fanny Burney wrote, "Evelina," anonymously for she was in such a state of fear about receiving criticisms to her reputation that she thought she could not survive them. She kept hidden her authorship even from her father. Somehow he caught wind of it and then consequentially all was revealed and she became lionized a celebrity among celebrities.
The tone of Evelina is rife with how one interprets or misinterprets communication primarily between the sexes through a convoluted language use that was used in 18th century discourse. It even has a what is now considered standard a mud scene and a fright scene with a what would have been then a strange animal.
This was a fun and light hearted read all the while trying to translate and understand some of the more 18th century set insults. Throughout my reading, I thought that Orville and Willowby were 'teaming,' to influence her towards a favorable decision about Orville because Orville seemed almost too good to be true.
It was worth it to see how Austen developed upon Fanny Burney's style. I enjoyed the dip into a time past. I also particularly liked the curious character Mrs. Selywn who is described by Evelina as; "extremely clever; her understanding, indeed, may be called masculine, but unfortunately, her manners deserve the same epithet." ... "with an unmerciful propensity towards satire." Mrs Selwyn forms the essential half of the war of the sexes type of humour and enlivens the text with striking ripostes.
I really like the early scene between Evelina and Mr. MacCartney, this showed a brave woman in action and because of this I have decided to move my rating up to a bare 3.
bealovescaramel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
3.5
Wow! This really awoke the misandrist in me!!! UwU
Evelina or a young woman being molested and sexually assaulted by multiple men throughout four hundred pages straight!
Yet I cannot but lament to find myself in a world so deceitful, where we must suspect what we see, distrust what we hear, and doubt even how we feel!
You get it, Mr Villars!
#epistolarynovelshatepage #captainmirvanpublicexecutionrn #goofyahhhhsirclementwilloughby #lordmertonmorelikelordmerdon #mrsselwynismytypefr
charisreading's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75