Evelina

Evelina or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World is a novel written by English author Frances Burney and first published in 1778.
Evelina, the title character, is the unacknowledged but legitimate daughter of a dissipated English aristocrat. Her dubious birth has seen her raised in rural seclusion until her seventeenth year. Through a series of humorous events that take place in London and the resort town of Hotwells, near Bristol, Evelina learns how to navigate the complex layers of 18th-century society and earn the love of a distinguished nobleman. This sentimental novel, which has notions of sensibility and early romanticism, satirizes the society in which it is set and is a significant precursor to later works by Jane Austen and Maria Edgeworth, whose novels explore many of the same issues. (wikipedia.org)

Frances Burney (1752-1840), better known as Fanny Burney, was an English dramatist and writer. She contributed significantly to the growth of the book as a genre and was one of the most well-known female authors of her day. Burney was born into a low-income household in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. Charles Burney, her father, was a well-known expert in music history. Burney released "Evelina," her first book, under an assumed name in 1778, to tremendous public and critical acclaim. Burney published many additional books after "Evelina," including "Cecilia" (1782) and "Camilla" (1796). Strong female heroes who struggled with moral decisions and cultural expectations were a common theme in Burney's books. Burney created plays, diaries, and letters in addition to novels. Burney struggled with both emotional and financial issues throughout her life, despite her literary achievement. She had a son via her marriage to General Alexandre D'Arblay, a French immigrant. The death of her spouse, as well as other hardships with money and health, characterized Burney's latter years. The contributions Fanny Burney made to English literature and her status as a pioneering female author have been acknowledged and honored.