I'm sure that this story deserves more than three stars, and I admit that I am rating it as a modern reader and not as a classic that deserves considerations for its own merits during its own time period. I'm a fan of Jane Austen and as such was curious to read this precursor to Austen's wonderful fiction.

The difference in presentation is marked. Austen tells a story beautifully while Burney relies on numerous letters to describe scenes of life. I've personally always found the letter writing method of story telling tedious, and in this case felt that more editing could have been done to shorten the content while still getting the story across. However, Ms. Burney has acquitted herself well in providing us with a vision of what life must have been like for a girl in Evalina's social position. It's terrifying actually, and well worth reading and comparing to Jane Austen's more genteel perspective of cultured living.