Approaches to Teaching the Novels of Samuel Richardson

Modern Language Association, 2006.

Lisa Zunshine and Jocelyn Harris, eds.

The novels of Samuel Richardson can be demanding for the student today because of their focus on virtue, their embodiment of eighteenth-century social conventions, and their sheer length. Although the critical scholarship on Richardson is thriving, there is little work on teaching his novels. This volume turns the challenge of his novels into opportunity for inventive pedagogy.

Part 1, "Materials," assesses available editions of Richardson's works; evaluates background materials; and reviews biographies, critical studies, readings on eighteenth-century literature, and Web resources. A survey of experienced instructors identifies successful assignments for both undergraduate and graduate students.

Part 2. "Approaches," is divided into four sections, on the background of Richardson's novels and one each on Clarissa, Pamela, and Sir Charles Grandison. Contributors explore the meanings of religion to Richardson's characters and his contemporaries; discuss how his work as a printer influenced the physical appearance of his novels; show how to engage students in debates about feminism and patriarchal ideology in the novels; and consider why Richardson revised so extensively. Classroom exercises use the Web to compare online editions of Richardson's novels.

Contributors:
Janet E. Aikins
Janine Barchas
Patricia Bruckmann
Nicky Didicher
Teri Ann Doerksen
David C. Hensley
Tom Keymer
Elizabeth Kraft
Jayne Lewis
Robert Markley
Keith Maslen
Michael McKeon
Judith Moore
Mark James Morreale
Felicity A. Nussbaum
Ruth Perry
John Richetti
Kristina Straub
Cynthia Wall
Jeremy W. Webster