Well, I’m in and already surprised by the start! More blood and blades than I was expecting. Bearing in mind, however, that my expectations were based on dim memories of the early part of Pamela, it’s not surprising that I was surprised.
It's all here isn't it, right from the start we've got money, violence, romance. I love how gossipy and muckraking this opener is - Anna Howe is basically saying, "tell me everything!" It shows people really were no different before phones and social media.
I've tried Clarissa before and was defeated after 400 pages or so. I'm a huge fan of 18th Century books, I volunteer at the Dr Johnson Museum in London and like to think myself a pretty resilient reader - but I was worn down before. I think taking the year of the book to read it is a great idea.
From my memory of the beginning, it's quite pacy and the characters are intriguing. It gets tough when the characters keep revisiting and regurgitating the points they've already made over hundreds of pages. But while it's fresh and fun, I hope we all enjoy and I hope we make it out the other side.
Hello Adam, welcome to the group! I had a very similar experience reading Richardson’s Pamela last year. The first half of the book felt incredibly fast and relevant. But the second half became tedious and drawn out. I was afraid this might be the case with Clarissa too, especially given how long it is. Hopefully, with each other’s support, we will all make it to the end. Interesting to hear that you volunteer at the Dr Johnson museum, I live quite close to his birthplace but have never visited. It’s on my list of things to do this year.
The birthplace museum is great. Visit Lichfield after reading about Johnson's early life and it becomes almost Johnson theme-park. Erasmus Darwin house in Lichfield is also a great visit.
Well, I’m in and already surprised by the start! More blood and blades than I was expecting. Bearing in mind, however, that my expectations were based on dim memories of the early part of Pamela, it’s not surprising that I was surprised.
It's all here isn't it, right from the start we've got money, violence, romance. I love how gossipy and muckraking this opener is - Anna Howe is basically saying, "tell me everything!" It shows people really were no different before phones and social media.
I've tried Clarissa before and was defeated after 400 pages or so. I'm a huge fan of 18th Century books, I volunteer at the Dr Johnson Museum in London and like to think myself a pretty resilient reader - but I was worn down before. I think taking the year of the book to read it is a great idea.
From my memory of the beginning, it's quite pacy and the characters are intriguing. It gets tough when the characters keep revisiting and regurgitating the points they've already made over hundreds of pages. But while it's fresh and fun, I hope we all enjoy and I hope we make it out the other side.
Hello Adam, welcome to the group! I had a very similar experience reading Richardson’s Pamela last year. The first half of the book felt incredibly fast and relevant. But the second half became tedious and drawn out. I was afraid this might be the case with Clarissa too, especially given how long it is. Hopefully, with each other’s support, we will all make it to the end. Interesting to hear that you volunteer at the Dr Johnson museum, I live quite close to his birthplace but have never visited. It’s on my list of things to do this year.
The birthplace museum is great. Visit Lichfield after reading about Johnson's early life and it becomes almost Johnson theme-park. Erasmus Darwin house in Lichfield is also a great visit.
Thanks for the recommendations Adam! I’ll definitely read a little more about him before I visit in the springtime. Lichfield is a beautiful place.