Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady (Penguin Classics) Reprint Edition

Since I wrote the following review a few years ago, the Penguin version (first edition) has become available as a Kindle book. It seems like a good well-proofread edition of the excellent Penguin print version I speak about below. The first commenter on my review speaks about the Folio edition, a classy reprint which is practically identical with the Penguin first edition, more costly but well worth it if you like good illustrations and excellent bindings.

What follows is my original review from years ago. In it, I refer to the Mobi edition no longer available on Kindle, but the Mobi edition is very close to a perfect reproduction of the Gutenberg version, which is still out there and still available on Kindle. As far as I can see, the Penguin Kindle is as of February 2017 the only fully proofread unabridged first- or third-edition CLARISSA available.

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This is a great book. You have to be in the mood for it, but so many reviewers here have been in that mood it doesn't seem necessary to stress how engrossing and satisfying it can be.

Be aware: the Penguin paperback, a slight challenge to hold (because it's one big volume) is the first edition of CLARISSA. The Mobi-Kindle version available here for download is the latest, I believe the third edition.

The Penguin editor suggests the first edition is better (it's certainly shorter, though very long indeed). Here's why:

After the book was published and had its great success, Richardson noticed that some people didn't realize what a villain Lovelace was, and in particular how much he controlled the heroine from the very beginning of his seduction till the end. Also some people didn't get the moral of the book in a way that satisfied Richardson.

So he went around adding commentary and cross-references, along the lines of "Lovelace knew that already! Check out his letter from a week ago!" and so on. He also added summaries of every single letter and moral comments on many of them.

"In for a penny; in for a pound" is the old British saying, and these extra comments may be just what readers want and need. But they weren't there when the book had its first success, and the Penguin paperback leaves them out. It's a first, this Penguin edition, reproducing the first printed form instead of the later rewrites and additions. I agree with the Penguin editor that the book moves more efficiently with the later comments cut. It's still a million words, so you're not getting fast action no matter what you do, but at least you don't have the author standing behind you and hitting you on the head to make sure you don't miss any big important points.

So there's a real choice here between two good editions. The Mobi Kindle has the latest edition at length, with no more than the usual errors; the Penguin edition is the first edition and leaves out authorial comments from later editions. No other edition, print or e-book, does what the Penguin paperback does; they're all later editions, one way or another.

P. S.

Just for the heck of it, here are the major errors in the Mobi version of Volume 3, Letter 8 (Letter 100 in the Penguin version, which does not divide into volumes).

Clarissa has asked her friend Anna if Clarissa has done anything wrong. In the Mobi version, Anna says, "And I repeat, I think, your provocations and inducements considered, that ever young creature was who took such a step." The Penguin version is, "And I repeat, I think, your provocations and inducements considered, YOU ARE FREE FROM BLAME: AT LEAST, THE FREEST that ever young creature was that took such a step."

Later in the same letter, Anna says, in the Mobi version, "Pray inform me of every thing that passes between you and him. My cares for you (however needless, from your own prudence) make me wish you to continue to be every minute." The last two words in the Penguin version are "VERY MINUTE"! Amazing what a difference a one-letter typo can make.

So that's two errors in one long letter, in the Mobi version. About what I'd expect, but it was very nice to have the Penguin to check against. At least once a letter, a reader of the Mobi version will see, as above, that something has gone wrong, but if she's like me, she won't quite be able to figure it out. That's life where Kindle classics are concerned. I'm still reading the Mobi because it's so much easier to carry.

Don't be put off by the length. This was really a wonderful book. Once I'd finished the book and knew the story, I wanted to start all over again to savor it's development. The novel really starts to pick up when Lovelace's letters begin. The characters of Lovelace and Anna Howe leap from the page. I would love to see an updated film version. I was continually struck with how contemporary the psychology seemed. It just goes to show you, that human nature is constant. I read Pamela in college and now want to re-read it and also Sir Charles Grandison, which I've never read. Also, I started this novel w/the Penguin Classics edition and halfway through, having purchased the new Kindle Paperwhite, downloaded the last five volumes, for free, on to it. Weighing in at almost 3 lbs in paperback makes this a perfect book to put on an e-reader.

For more insight into the background, themes, symbols, etc. see Sparknotes.

The 18th century language is a challenge. Although this is an "abridged version," it is still over 500 pages, slow moving and often redundant. I will continue reading for the historical interest. If you're looking for a page-turner, this is not the book for you.

May we add a review from Lord Macaulay, via William Makepeace Thackeray...
"....Under the dome which held Macaulay's brain, and from which his solemn eyes looked out on the world but a fortnight since, what a vast, brilliant, and wonderful store of learning was ranged! what strange lore would he not fetch for you at your bidding? A volume of law or history, a book of poetry familiar or forgotten (except by himself who forgot nothing), a novel ever so old, and he had it at hand. I spoke to him once about "Clarissa." "Not read 'Clarissa'!" he cried out. "If you have once thoroughly entered on 'Clarissa' and are infected by it, you can't leave it. When I was in India I passed one hot season at the hills, and there were the Governor-General, and the Secretary of Government, and the Commander-in-Chief, and their wives. I had 'Clarissa' with me; and, as soon as they began to read, the whole station was in a passion of excitement about Miss Harlowe and her misfortunes, and her scoundrelly Lovelace! The Governor's wife seized the book, and the Secretary waited for it, and the Chief Justice could not read it for tears!" He acted the whole scene; he paced up and down the Athenaeum library; I dare say he could have spoken pages of the book - ...

If you like soap opera, this is the novel for you. Also feminists and lovers of classic fiction will enjoy this book. The novel is written in letters and therefore requires work and patience by the reader. But your labors will be rewarded.

The subtleties in this text are very easy to miss, and it requires a very careful, thorough reading. It is rife with religious allusions, and as an epistolary novel, you can never really be sure if you're getting an accurate accounting of events from any of the characters, although the main character is by far the most reliable.

This was a gift and was greatly appreciated.