zoeforde2's review against another edition
4.0
For an 18th ce epistolary novel, Evelina is pretty good. The plot was intriguing enough to overlook the faults of the text. I would recommend if you’re a Jane Austen fan!
annataeko's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the story very much indeed, and the way it is developed. My favourite character is, without a shadow of a doubt, Mrs Selwyn. She is exceedingly well written and has such a strong and rather rebellious personality– and I love it. I must say, however, that I would have loved to see a more developed character in Evelina. She is amazingly written, but for some reason or other, I expected something different from her when it comes to making decisions and expressing herself, despite being a teenager and all. Overall, I do recommend it to anyone who has loved Jane Austen's novels or any other author from the early nineteenth century. It depicts all the social conventions and aspects of the time beautifully and fully. I guarantee you will not be deceived by it, in that sense.
HAPPY READING! x
HAPPY READING! x
uryun's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
suprisingly good? I didn't expect to like it this much. Evelina is the best, Lord Orville is a cutie and all the other men in this novel are absolutely unbearable.
suprisingly good? I didn't expect to like it this much. Evelina is the best, Lord Orville is a cutie and all the other men in this novel are absolutely unbearable.
fairywren's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
isabellabasile's review against another edition
5.0
It’s like pride & prejudice if Jane was the main character and also an orphan and also the stakes and the drama were turned up to 100% and also it was an epistolary novel. This was like a soap opera meets quirky teenage coming of age film but in 1770s England and i loved every minute.
Also, Sir Clement can go fuck himself
Also, Sir Clement can go fuck himself
munchjax's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this, even though I read it for a college course. It was so fun! I love the personality given to Evelina. I love how much we are able to feel about the characters! It was a real treat to read at the end of the semester when everything gets so busy. I really suggest it.
malaynachang's review against another edition
3.0
MY OPINION: ***
I read this book for my English class and actually found it to be more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I'm not going to talk a lot about it because I just wrote an essay on it and I don't think I can handle much more...
I'd never heard of this book prior to this class despite the fact that it is such an important achievement for women in this time period. That makes me sad because I feel like this is something we should have read in high school over another white man's works...
I noticed a LOT of similarities between this and Jane Austen's writings (which came after). Austen was very inspired by Burney and I definitely saw that throughout this book. Both focus on women in "high" society and coming-of-age and follow these women's struggles to navigate marriage, relationships, status, and love in a male-dominated world.
This is an epistolary novel, and I enjoyed reading all of the letters. While I am never the hugest fan of epistolary books, I did find enjoyment in this one because most of it was from the perspective of Evelina and read like any other book. Evelina is clearly naive and brand-new to the world of London and her perspective is quite entertaining and relatable to read from.
The book has a clearly feminist tone, though more subtle than expected. I guess I understand the inability of a female writer to write a clearly "feminist" piece of work in this time period but I did enjoy the ways that she managed to criticize the patriarchy in this book. The book focuses a lot on the various ways men exerted violence against women in this time period, physically, verbally, and emotionally. It made me quite sad and enraged to see how common such manipulative and misogynistic events were and honestly still are.
I enjoyed watching the love story unfold between Evelina and Lord Orville because it was very realistic. She is constantly questioning his feelings for her, jumping to conclusions, and generally getting very worked up over him. This is quite real to many modern-day relationships, which I thought was funny. No matter how much we've progressed, we still have not changed in some ways.
This book was honestly way longer than it needed to be. That's my only real complaint about it. It dragged on at times and I had to resort to the audiobook to finish it because of how lengthy and laborious it felt at times. However, I'd still recommend this book to fans of Austen and feminist lit.
Main Character: Evelina
Sidekick(s): Lord Orville, Maria, Villars, etc
Villain(s): Misogyny, Captain Mervin, etc
Classics Elements: This is one of the earlier pieces of women's literature.
I read this book for my English class and actually found it to be more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I'm not going to talk a lot about it because I just wrote an essay on it and I don't think I can handle much more...
I'd never heard of this book prior to this class despite the fact that it is such an important achievement for women in this time period. That makes me sad because I feel like this is something we should have read in high school over another white man's works...
I noticed a LOT of similarities between this and Jane Austen's writings (which came after). Austen was very inspired by Burney and I definitely saw that throughout this book. Both focus on women in "high" society and coming-of-age and follow these women's struggles to navigate marriage, relationships, status, and love in a male-dominated world.
This is an epistolary novel, and I enjoyed reading all of the letters. While I am never the hugest fan of epistolary books, I did find enjoyment in this one because most of it was from the perspective of Evelina and read like any other book. Evelina is clearly naive and brand-new to the world of London and her perspective is quite entertaining and relatable to read from.
The book has a clearly feminist tone, though more subtle than expected. I guess I understand the inability of a female writer to write a clearly "feminist" piece of work in this time period but I did enjoy the ways that she managed to criticize the patriarchy in this book. The book focuses a lot on the various ways men exerted violence against women in this time period, physically, verbally, and emotionally. It made me quite sad and enraged to see how common such manipulative and misogynistic events were and honestly still are.
I enjoyed watching the love story unfold between Evelina and Lord Orville because it was very realistic. She is constantly questioning his feelings for her, jumping to conclusions, and generally getting very worked up over him. This is quite real to many modern-day relationships, which I thought was funny. No matter how much we've progressed, we still have not changed in some ways.
This book was honestly way longer than it needed to be. That's my only real complaint about it. It dragged on at times and I had to resort to the audiobook to finish it because of how lengthy and laborious it felt at times. However, I'd still recommend this book to fans of Austen and feminist lit.
Main Character: Evelina
Sidekick(s): Lord Orville, Maria, Villars, etc
Villain(s): Misogyny, Captain Mervin, etc
Classics Elements: This is one of the earlier pieces of women's literature.
novel_nomad's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 social navigation stars
A truly fun read, that had me laughing at the ridiculous fops and tricks that happened in Evelina's company. The writing was not a difficulty as I have been exposed to other classics from the mid-late 18th Century, and the epistolary quality was effective. Also the levels of drama and emotion reminded me of Otranto and the coincidences in Victorian novels.
A truly fun read, that had me laughing at the ridiculous fops and tricks that happened in Evelina's company. The writing was not a difficulty as I have been exposed to other classics from the mid-late 18th Century, and the epistolary quality was effective. Also the levels of drama and emotion reminded me of Otranto and the coincidences in Victorian novels.