“Mrs. Harrel, with much simplicity, assured her that she did nothing but what every body else did, and that it was quite impossible for her to appear in the world in any other manner.”
Cecilia’s friend Mrs. Harrel and her husband are spending their way into misery (and worse) keeping up with fashionable London society. This is her defense when Cecilia admonishes her to retrench.
Cecilia, volume 2, book 3, chapter 3
The Jane Austen Guide to Life: Thoughtful Lessons for the Modern Woman (May, 2012)
A Walk with Jane Austen: A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith
Looks like a good book - though not as good as anything Jane has written of course! I’ve read Evelina by Fanny B. It was good, although I was annoyed by the heroine’s frequent “tottering”. There were funny parts during the operas… I’ll hope to enjoy Cecilia even more,