After having re-read (most of) Austen the last few months, it's funny to revisit 18th century novels and see the gap between earlier novels and Austen. Austen's characters are so much more fleshed out. Evelina the character resonates with me on some levels...the indecisiveness, the wanting to make sure you're being proper and all that...but overall, the characters are flat. As with Cecilia, the minor characters, over time, aggravate me to no end! Selwyn was funny, as a satirical woman, and I like some of the critiques that come out of her mouth. I like that those critiques are just baldly out there. But I skimmed like crazy through many of the minor character parts (and I know I missed some details).

It's funny that Burney is true to life on some of the annoying characters...it can seem like people are just surface level and annoying. But I've always found, as Austen shows, that the more you know someone, the more you, obviously, get past surface impressions. So, reading Evelina just makes me appreciate Austen all that much more. I wonder if Austen talks at length about Burney in letters...I wonder how Austen thought of her novels in relation to Burney: as an extension, growth out of, better product than Burney...if Burney was a model to show Austen what she did and did not want to do with her own novels...

It's also just fascinating to me to think that London was like the London that Burney describes--really?? Such dissipation...which makes me wonder how accurate her view was. It also makes me think, well, no wonder there is this notion of cities being evil and country life being good. And so strange that the rich go back and forth. And so crazy how these ridiculous rich people have all this money and do nothing for it...not so different today, but I don't think there's the extent of inherited wealth in the US. Maybe I'm wrong, not sure.

And, it's also scary thinking about how paper-thin and all-important a woman's reputation was. So many unspoken rules and so many ridiculous rules. Just being seen with someone could be so improper. Blech!

Overall, I do appreciate how Burney has shaped her novels, but Austen has greater depth, I think, which I love. And, I suppose that subtlety is part of it, too; Austen is more understated. You have to give more to her, and you get more out of her work. Plus, just having more flesh-and-blood type characters.

Funny...I "own" a copy of this as an ebook! maybe I should have searched for an ebook version to include...