The reputation of Frances Burney (1752-1840) was largely established with her first novel, Evelina. Published anonymously in 1778, it is an epistolary account of a sheltered young woman's entrance into society and her experience of family. Its comedy ranges from the violent practical joking reminiscent of Smollett's fiction to witty repartee that influenced Austen.

The Broadview edition is based on the second edition of the novel (1779), which incorporates Burney's revisions and corrections. Its appendices include contemporary reviews of Evelinaas well as eighteenth-century works on the family and on comedy.