Frances Burney, Mme d’Arblay (1752-1840) [ Art and Literature ]
… Evelina approaches London as a debutante from the country, getting as lost in the mazes of Vauxhall as in the unwritten rules of London’s polite assemblies. 6 The strict rules to be observed with regard to dancing partners do not allow girls even a polite negative to a partner, as Evelina … middle classes, had a horror of accepting favours. Their insecurity made them particularly alert to any changes in the rules and customs of politeness among the musical and literary circles they lived in, and the fashionable aristocratic …
Fiction | Masquerade | Memoirs | Theatre | Women
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