Remarks on Clarissa

by Sarah Fielding

Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady is an epistolary novel by English writer Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the tragic story of a heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family and is regarded as one of the longest novels in the English language (based on estimated word count). It is generally regarded as Richardson's masterpiece.
Sarah Fielding's Remarks on Clarissa delves into the book's characters and setting. With insight not available today, a look at the story from a feminist viewpoint of the time, we can see the social affects this great novel had at the time.
Odin’s Library Classics is dedicated to bringing the world the best of humankind’s literature from throughout the ages. Carefully selected, each work is unabridged from classic works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or drama.

Genres: 18th Century, Nonfiction, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1749

About the author

Sarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy (1749), which was the first novel in English written especially for children (children's literature), and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple (1744).

Reviews

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is interesting to read a book on Clarissa's reception at the time of its publication. When reading the original book, it is difficult for me to understand which parts of the character's mentality come from the time and culture in which the story was written, and which parts are specific to Richardson's creation. For example, as a 21st century reader I do not share the same ethical values as the characters. Were these moral values shared by people who lived in the 18th century? By reading Sarah Fielding's book I was able to understand that some people did, and some did not. It was also interesting to note that the questions that Sarah Fielding asks the book are quite different from the analysis that people would do nowadays, but not less pertinent.

[Emma Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This parlor's eye view of Richardson's general readership's reactions to each installment of his novel is so insightful. It's a representation of casual literary discourse like none I've encountered from the period. This gives insight into how people thought about and talked about, and what they felt about, what they were reading. It shows us how familiarity with Richardson's book was widespread, perhaps even to the point of being assumed to any person of quality. It depicts routine social gatherings as being transformed by the phenomenon that was Clarissa into a kind of literary salon. It begins with a report on what people are saying about Richardson, his story, and his characters in public and ends with a snippet of fan fiction exchanged between private individuals.