Where did Jane Austen find inspiration? Fanny Burney's Evelina Appreciation

[@saku577]

I'm so happy you are talking about Fanny Burney and Evelina! She's so underappreciated today.

[@EllieDashwood]

Yes! She totally is! She needs way more appreciation.

[@ibidthefrog]

Her life is almost more fascinating than her books!

[@davidmarlajurek5038]

I still hope for an adaptation of Evelina!!! I keep imagining how her "French" grandmother and her paramour would be interpreted and how hilarious they would be! 😂

[@l.jagilamplighterwright9211]

And Belinda was a novel by Maria Edgeworth, also an amazing Regency character...not only is she credited with inventing the historical novel (Castle Rackrent) but her own life really reads like a historical novel, with crazy things happening to her right from the elopement of her parents.

[@mayaswatch]

Thank you for bringing another great author to light for me! My favorite JA novel is Persuasion! I wish that someone would put the books ending concerning Mrs. Smith in it! Perhaps you could do a comparison video on that book? 💙

[@EllieDashwood]

Persuasion is wonderful! And I will definitely write down the video idea!

[@silentscreenvamp]

Evelina is one of my all-time favorites! So glad to see it get some love.

[@EllieDashwood]

Yay! More people need to know about it!

[@tessyb8]

Sir clement is a really great villain; he's that man who won't leave you alone no matter what you say. I was horrified when he took her off route in the carriage

[@thijssiebeling5165]

It is indeed nice to see this ignored book get some deserved recognition. I re-read it (or actually listen to the audio-book) every year or so, just because I find it hilarious and at the same time full of beautiful prose. Did you know she was not able to write the letters of the alphabet at age 8, but that as soon as she could, she started reading fanatically and writing her own stories? She also started an impressive journal and letter writing habit that now offers a wealth of insight into the later half of the Georgian era. Her memory was remarkable and because she often found herself in the company of a whole slew of celebrated people (literature man Dr Johnson, actor Garrick, painter Joshua Reynolds, theater man Sheridan, etc), she had ample opportunity to keenly observe them and write out their conversations almost verbatim in her journal. She was especially keen when they had praised her :)

[@gebswife]

Thank you for sharing information about Fanny Burney. I hadn’t heard of her and you really piqued my interest in reading her works. Love your channel!

[@musicalcolin]

This is such a weird worlds colliding moment. I wasn’t familiar with Frances Burney, but Charles Burney’s accounts of music in his time are really important for musicologists.

[@EllieDashwood]

That’s so interesting!!!

[@jaimicottrill2831]

I’m definitely going to try Fanny Burney books now, you’ve convinced me! My favourite Jane Austen novels is hard to pick because I love them for different reasons. I love the bond between sisters in Sense and sensibility, I love Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, and my favourite Austen hero is Mr Tilney from Northanger Abbey! Another great video Miss Dashwood. ☺️

[@EllieDashwood]

Aw! Thank you! And yes, it is WAY too hard to choose just one. I hope you love Burney! She’s awesome. 😎

[@intheclouds6521]

Mr Tilney is my favourite too!

[@vineethg6259]

This was an awesome video indeed! 👍 I read Fanny Burney's works for the first time almost a year back after I came to know that Burney, Ann Radcliffe and Maria Edgeworth were Austen's early inspirations. But I must admit I had completely missed these subtle influences on Austen's works you have mentioned here. I even missed the 'Willoughby' part in Sir Clement Willoughby! (Was I half-asleep while reading through the novel? 😃). Thanks for bringing these to our notice. 😊 Also, when talking of the influence of Burney's works on _Pride & Prejudice,_ lets also not forget _Cecilia,_ without which our beloved Austen novel might just have ended up with a different name altogether! _“The whole of this unfortunate business,” said Dr Lyster, “has been the result of PRIDE and PREJUDICE. Your uncle, the Dean, began it, by his arbitrary will, as if an ordinance of his own could arrest the course of nature! and as if he had power to keep alive, by the loan of a name, a family in the male branch already extinct. Your father, Mr Mortimer, continued it with the same self-partiality, preferring the wretched gratification of tickling his ear with a favourite sound, to the solid happiness of his son with a rich and deserving wife. Yet this, however, remember; if to PRIDE and PREJUDICE you owe your miseries, so wonderfully is good and evil balanced, that to PRIDE and PREJUDICE you will also owe their termination.."_ - *Final chapter of **_Cecilia_** (Book 10, Ch. 10)* _(emphasis as in the original text)_ I must also add that reading Burney made me appreciate Austen better. _Evelina_ was quite good. The only major shortcoming I could find was the epistolary nature of the work ( Did people actually write such long letters back then with conversations quoted verbatim?). But I guess that was pretty much the trend in the Georgian era as Samuel Richardson's _Pamela,_ _Clarissa_ and even Austen's own early works like _Lady Susan_ and the original version of _Sense and Sensibility_ were all epistolary. But when Burney moved to _Cecilia_ and _Camilla,_ (and _The Wanderer_ as well to an extent) things started becoming a bit tedious. The plot became repetitive, predictable and rather cliche - like a hero finding the heroine in a situation where she should not be, the heroine does not speak up and explain (which should have ended all the misunderstandings and the story itself then and there), so the doubts and misapprehensions endure and the story drags on etc etc. And then there are pages and pages of long frivolous conversation between unimportant characters that does virtually nothing to advance the plot of the story (especially in _Cecilia_ ). I suspect that Burney did this on purpose to increase the length of the work so that it could be published in five volumes, which may have meant more money both for herself and the publisher as circulating libraries were becoming increasingly popular at that time. On the other hand, Austen chose to keep her works short and to the point - no long conversations, no meaningless detours in plot. She never tested our patience and was famously economical with her words, but whatever she wrote was chosen carefully that it became iconic. (I mean, can we think of one memorable quote from Burney's work like we have from Austen?) The end result, of course, was that Austen's works have aged so well that they spawn a multi-billion dollar industry of movie, merchandise and tours even after two centuries, while poor Fanny Burney is pretty much forgotten. I must also acknowledge that until I read Burney's novels I never knew there was such a thing as the _sedan chair_ in Georgian England. I thought it was all about horse carriages in that era! I mean, these _chairs_ are mentioned by Austen in both _Northanger Abbey_ and _Persuasion,_ but I hadn't noticed it at the time. They must have been a popular mode of conveyance in London and Bath at that time period. I was quite shocked too when I read about how Fanny Burney endured that operation without anaesthetics (they weren't invented then) and wrote about her experience so vividly to her sister later. I find it remarkable that she survived that ordeal and lived to tell the tale. She was one strong woman indeed!

[@EllieDashwood]

She was! I wouldn’t have survived that. And yes, I’m so glad that Austen was a good self editor who got straight to the point! I

[@vineethg6259]

@@EllieDashwood Hoping to see you do a video on Radcliffe's works someday as well.. Until I read some of her novels I didn't quite catch much of the humour in _Northanger Abbey._ 🙂

[@EllieDashwood]

@@vineethg6259 That is definitely in the works!

[@captainjaneway80]

That is the most beautiful cat I’ve ever see . 🐈‍⬛ she is a baby 👶🏻 💕

[@LK-se2ju]

Baby: “oh you are distracted.... the flowers are finally mine.”

[@basura8355]

she is a criminal who snatches flowers with her criminal paws. sentenced to baby jail

[@EllieDashwood]

She is a baby princess puff queen and expects all to give her the admiration she considers her rightful due.

[@linnaeaborealis]

I just came from one of your P&P videos and was thinking "I wish more people would talk about Evelina" and here you are! 😁 I really really want a screen adaptation of this book.

[@carola-lifeinparis]

fantastic, I had no idea that this author existed. Loved the video

[@EllieDashwood]

Aw! Thank you!

[@heritagehuntress9553]

When you started yelling at the cat, for a moment I thought you were calling her Bingley. Which totally seems like something you would name a cat. Oh, and I love Fanny Burney!

[@GrubStLodger]

Big fan of Burney, still trying to get into Austen. Now Eliza Haywood, that's a novelist.

[@anamarf]

Welp, I guess I'll have to go read Fanny Burney's books...aaaaalll of them~!!

[@EllieDashwood]

She is an awesome writer!

[@anamarf]

@@EllieDashwood ^^ anyone who inspired Jane Austen has to be awesome xD... and I'm really curious about the time period around the 1790's-ish, so that's a plus! Thank you so much for the suggestion! x)

[@Nerdmaid]

Now I’m definitely going to read Evelina!!!!

[@EllieDashwood]

Yay! I hope you love it!

[@LK-se2ju]

I have never heard of this bad ass woman! I knew that Austen had female literary heroes because she met with one in Becoming Jane.

[@vineethg6259]

That was Ann Radcliffe in _Becoming Jane._ Her Gothic works like _Mysteries of Udolpho_ and _Romance of the forest_ are parodied by Austen in _Northanger Abbey._

[@LK-se2ju]

@@vineethg6259 I tried to google it! But I just knew y’all would tell me.

[@Andrea_of_AtLastCrochet]

I'm glad you reviewed the inspiration books of Austen. I have been wanting to read some new writers and was never sure if I wanted to go back in time for those books. The connections you make with Austen's stories add interest. Off to find Camilla and Belinda and Evelina😊.

[@EllieDashwood]

Hope you enjoy it! 😃

[@Andrea_of_AtLastCrochet]

@@EllieDashwood So far. Everything you mention is affecting the story and reminds me a lot of Northanger Abbey. 😄

[@laurenjohnson5941]

I read the book in September 2020 and I thought all the same things when I was going through it! I wondered if I was just reaching but that makes me so happy someone else pieced this together! I remember reading Evelina listening to Lord Orville and I burst out laughing because it did feel like *wait I've read this before, I kNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING* and when I saw the name Willoughby I knew I couldn't trust him. (the Harriet and Miss Thorpe best friend connection went over my head, though, that's so cool!!!) This was a really great video and you did justice to describing Evelina without spoiling much! It is a very good read. 'Belinda' by Maria Edgeworth is also excellent!

[@vineethg6259]

I would recommend Edgeworth's _Belinda_ to anyone just for the sake of one character - Lady Delacour. She is just such a colourful and witty lady that completely eclipses the titular character whenever she appears that it left me wondering why Edgeworth ended up making Belinda into such an insipid one. 🙄

[@EllieDashwood]

Aw, thank you! It's so cool we had similar thoughts on this! And yes, when she heard Lord Orville I had the same reaction!!! Thanks for the recommendation of Belinda.

[@Janettemay64]

I've recently found you, I am listening to the Austin books as audios having previously read all of them a couple of times over the years, the old eyesight isn't what it used to be, also getting into your English history. Anyway I'm enjoying your work, thank you for the research and detail you have put in. Have also now subscribed.

[@EllieDashwood]

Aw, thank you for subscribing! And welcome to the channel! Austen audiobooks are awesome 👍🏻

[@danaemcburney4160]

I really appreciate hearing this information. It's so easy to look at a work in isolation and assume every aspect was the outpouring of an unusually brilliant mind, and that such genius can never be found again. But seeing elements from others who came before and how the brilliant artist/writer/scientist built on those gives us a more realistic picture of how great things come to be. And therefore, I think, makes aiming for greatness more of a realistic goal.

[@SusanLH]

I think this is my favourite of all your videos. I read very few female authors (definitely my bad) as part of my 18th century literature year and Miss Burney was not one of them. I will remedy that shortly as I see my understanding of literature in sorely in need of remedying. :) I'm not a fan of the deification of woman as the novel as a medium develops. But that's 21st century me and I have to put that to one side. Jane Austen really moves women out of two-dimensionality into "reality" or she plays with those tropes/satirises them. Looking more at the evolution of women from, say, Richardson to Austen via Burney will be interesting. Thanks again for a thought provoking conversation.

[@EllieDashwood]

I hope you enjoy Evelina! And it’s so true, it’s like to be a heroine you had to literally be their era’s version of perfect back then.

[@m00nlove]

ahh Fanny Burney appreciation!! i’m so happy🤍

[@EllieDashwood]

Yay! She definitely needs more of it!

[@carly9077]

I remember being 16 and hearing about this book. I didn't find it in spanish and my english wasn't very good so I gave up after a few chapters. I will give it a try now!

[@teodorasavoiu4664]

I accidentally found this book in my family's "old and shabby" bookshelves and didn't know what to expect. It was such a nice surprise, cause I hadn't heard of Frances Burney before, and I'm still a bit shocked to find that old translation in my parents' house but never see or hear about it, or about Burney, anywhere else before or since. Fanny Burney definitely needs and deserves more visibility, happy to see you talk about Evelina and the author's influence on Jane Austen ❤️

[@FranciscanGypsy]

Thank you! I’ve now picked up the three Fanny books you mentioned on kindle (must be able to knit and read) for a steal! Looking forward to checking her out!

[@EllieDashwood]

I hope you love her work!

[@veronicamaine3813]

Lucy worsley did a series on called. A very British romance and it covers evalina and how popular it was - I think anyone who likes Ellie’s content will love Lucy’s series.

[@kevinrussell1144]

Commenting on this a year after you posted it seems kind of silly, but this points out an interesting aspect of this "environment" (this booktube world of posting, watching, and interaction between presenter and audience). Once these are "out", they have a life of their own. Unless they are removed, they interact and prompt in fits and starts, and there is no guarantee that your audience will discover them in any kind of orderly or rigorous fashion. So I can refer to you as "Electra" because I've listened to a recent (2022) post, yet anyone that responded "back in the day" only knows you as "Ellie". Anyway, I'm glad I found this one. Thanks. I learned things (about Fanny Burney) that I was barely aware of before, and had never thought much about what influenced JA. But you're correct, we all stand on the shoulders of others; that's why we are such a fascinating and dangerous species. We learn both as individuals and groups, and we can pass on what we learn. Thanks, kid, for this great post and all your other contributions. Hope the new changes you have in mind bring you happiness and satisfaction, and whatever kind of success you're searching for.

[@Statuess]

After reading/listening to Evelina and Camilla, I recently started Belinda by Maria Edgeworth. Have you read it? It also has a VERY shocking overheard opinion scene near the beginning. 😂

[@EllieDashwood]

Belinda is definitely on my TBR list. I actually started it a while back, but had so much other reading to do that I couldn't continue. 😭 I'm super excited to discover this shocking overheard opinion scene someday though. 😂

[@Janettemay64]

@@EllieDashwood My audio book club only seems to have Camilla I'll have to make a start there.

[@ushere5791]

i just downloaded evelina from project gutenberg--it's epistolary, like lady susan! another parallel!

[@Lutomoria]

Thank you, for making this! I only made it like 5 min through because I don't want to spoil any more of the plot than what you've shared, but I've found out what I want to read next after I finish Jane Eyre!

[@janellescott210]

I am so sorry for not branching out more beyond P&P. I’m more of a listener to books than reader, and even when listening P&P had it’s challenges but by the 3 read it became my favorite comfort book to put on at bedtime. But I did enjoy Emma and Northanger Abby with success. But even though I’ve tried a few other JA novels I keep coming back to P&P. I know you must be tired of talking about it-lol

[@lauramuse910]

I’ve read the account of the mastectomy when I was working on my English Degree. I read it aloud to my mother and we were “traumatized.” She had to hold “herself” while the surgeon (throat clearing) removed what needed to get removed. Very graphic. Also very interesting. I love talking about it with modern people in the medical field.

[@katherinedemetroulis2847]

aaaaa you saved my presentation for my literature class THANK YOU

[@indepthliterature]

Just finished evelina. Although i found it very dated and difficult to understand it was enjoyable. Its a good introduction to female literature like jane austin, charlotte bronte, etc

[@MiljaHahto]

Thanks. Now I have something to try to get my hands on.

[@samschapel6886]

Thanks for another fab video, Ellie! You’re wonderful and your videos always brighten my day. 🌸🌼🌸

[@keapixhoudini6263]

Georgette Heyeris another who wrote Regency and Victoria romances and tried mystery as well. She is more recent as she only died in 1960s. Her Spanish Bride and Masquereders are my fave regency books

[@charlenesims9063]

I read evelina and i got confused when reading the first time. but fanny burney was the first to come up with pride and predjuice plot line. and then came out in jane austen's p&p. but the book evelina is the same sort of style as sameual richardson" s pamela which most of the 2 vols. are letter format. pamela writes to parents and evenline to her adoptive dad. but it is very well written and i own all 3 of fanny burney's novels. i can now read evelina without confusion because i know what happens and makes sense. like any novel some times we need to read and reread a novel to get the theme.

[@Anna-mc3ll]

Thank you for sharing this interesting review! Do you know if Fanny Burney's Evelina was famous among the contemporary readers? Why is this work basically unknown today?

[@thijssiebeling5165]

Evelina was a huge hit at the time. However, at publication she was a first-time, unknown, anonymous (because not seen as lady-like to write novels) author so financially it did not do her much good. Her 3rd book bought her a house (Camilla Cottage) however and despite being intensely shy and wanting to avoid attention, she and her books were famous, yes. Perhaps her last novel and memoirs of her father (neither were well-received) and the controversies about the veracity of her journals made her star fade enough for her to be largely forgotten by subsequent generations. Why her work was not picked up more in the 20th century for adaptations I don't know.

[@kaylahall1219]

Mansfield is my fave

[@zenmasterfu]

Very late to the party here, but why are Persuasuoon and Northanger Abbey put together in the poll. Persuasion is hands down my favourite JA, her little fantasy for herself and her sister, to remind them that love is still possible at the old age of 27! So much tension, it's really a brutal book, poor Anne.

[@lovetolovefairytales]

Kitty in the background!

[@EllieDashwood]

🐈‍⬛ She’s a classic literature and history cat!

[@juliab7178]

Goodness I want my own Lord Orville

[@byusaranicole]

Whoa... Why was Persuasion lumped in with Northanger Abbey in that poll? Yiiiiiikes. Put Northanger Abbey with Mansfield Park if you have to...

[@EllieDashwood]

😂 Yeah, KZbin only lets polls have 5 options so something had to get combined. Because Persuasion and Northanger Abbey were originally published as a combined volume, that's why I picked them.

[@melaniesng4713]

OMG! One more on my reading list. 😅

[@BeckyMarshallDesign]

Ellie, you use the term “age of sensibility” in this video without explaining it directly!

[@grandmastreasure8160]

Can you make videos on Mary wollstonecraft, Emily Dickinson, fanny Burney ,Anne Frank

[@bekabell1]

While P&P is an awesome novel, my preference is for Persuasion. I strongly appreciate Anne's resolute character in the face of her superficial, vain, and selfish family, and the implication, though unexpected, that she developed it as a result of her younger malleability.

[@jamescarstairs3384]

aida tq

[@Kelly-zv6ui]

Ye old story about not getting alone with a man in a vehicle

[@saramonder]

I can't stop thinking about an old fashioned mastectomy 😬 yikes

[@anahicampanelli3654]

P&p

[@TheStarsphere]

The content of this video is fascinating, but the editing is giving me a headache. How many dozens of takes are you cutting between? :(

[@jimbintz2424]

"SHE had a vasectomy?"

[@ellie698]

Id rather listen to someone else