Clarissa

by Samuel Richardson
Category: "Fiction - Romance"
Pages:1499
Year of Publication:1748
Date Added:09/08/2015
Date Read:10/14/2016
Notes:Clarissa Harlowe is courted by Robert Lovelace, a rake and predator. Her family hates him and tries to get her to marry Solmes, whom she despises. She says she will marry neither, but her parents try to force her to accept Solmes. She decides her only recourse is to ask Lovelace to help her, but at the last minute changes her mind. She tries to tell him, but he kidnaps her, keeps her prisoner in a whorehouse and, eventually drugs and rapes her. She escapes and takes refuge with a kindly couple. Lovelace's friend Belford, who is also a rake, is so taken by Clarissa that he reforms and helps her. She tries to reconnect with her family, but they believe she has ruined herself. She slowly fades and dies. Clarissa's cousin William Morden tracks down Lovelace and kills him in a duel.
My Rating: 4

Reviews for Clarissa

Review - Clarissa

This is reported to be the longest novel in English, which is the only reason I read it. The writing was overblown. The story, if it needed to be told at all, could have been adequately related in a 50-page novella. The characters were parodies, either totally worthless or evil or, in the case of Clarissa, faultless. She died, as near as I can tell, simply because it seemed like the proper thing to do.

Reviewed by Roger on 2016-10-15 20:18:02

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