![]() ![]() Lovelace was too well-rounded a character and readers interpreted him more ambiguously than Richardson preferred. This idea rather appalled Richardson, and yet he had deliberately made Lovelace somewhat appealing so that Clarissa's attraction to him would seem reasonable. Before the final volumes were published, some readers wanted the novel to end with Clarissa Harlowe and Robert Lovelace getting married. ![]() Richardson made some cuts before publishing the seven volumes of the first edition of Clarissa beginning in December 1747 and continuing into 1748.Ĭlarissa was very popular, but Richardson was disturbed at some of the reactions to the characters. ![]() For the few years that he had been writing the novel, he distributed pieces of it to a coterie of readers who suggested changes and edits. In theory, he could have made Clarissa whatever length he wanted.Īs the publication of Clarissa approached, however, Richardson feared the novel was too long for many readers. (One of the biographries of Richardson is entitled Samuel Richardson: Printer and Novelist and another is Samuel Richardson: Master Printer.) That was very convenient because Richardson could print his own books. Samuel Richardson was by profession a printer. I suggest eliminating the character of Belford"? Wasn't there a publisher who laid down the law and said "We've only budgeted for a thousand-page book, and that's final"? ![]() How did Samuel Richardson's Clarissa get to be so long? Wasn't there an editor who said "Let's tighten up this middle section. ![]()
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