Samuel Richardson's Clarissa

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course will examine the very long and possibly-very probably-the greatest novel in the English language. We'll consider the effect of Richardson's decision to conduct his novel as a series of letters, and we'll pay particular attention to his extraordinary effectiveness in creating complexity in a fairly simple plot and in tracking an ever-expanding cast of characters. The Penguin edition we'll be using comes to 1499 pages, and they are over-sized pages. This is a course for committed readers! (1650-1830 ; 18th/19th)