The Private Letters of Samuel Richardson: An Insight into The History of Clarissa
The Private Letters of Samuel Richardson: An Insight into The History of Clarissa

Summary/Abstract: This article begins with a look at the culture of epistolarity in Eighteenth-century England, providing first an overview of the growing diffusion of letter writing in the most various contexts. In particular, the private letter – the so-called familiar letter – became a favoured means to overcome material and psychological distances, proving to be capable of crossing even social and cultural barriers. The deep meaning and the widespread influence of this written mode of communication are emblematically embodied in the literary life of Samuel Richardson. As a novelist, Richardson expanded the dramatic possibilities of the narrative genre by his innovative use of the letter form. Moreover, he famously conducted an intense correspondence with his readers, establishing an epistolary network which accompanied the long and complex gestation of his masterpiece, Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which Richardson’s private correspondence configures itself as a critical metadiscourse, which is able to offer a penetrating insight into the history of Clarissa.

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