One of my 2012 reading goals is to read Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. Clarissa is an 18th century epistolary novel that is composed of 537 letters and is about 1500 pages long. I've wanted to read it for a very long time, but just couldn't seem to commit until I read a lovely tribute to this book written by o on her blog Delaisse.
Here is a Plot synopsis (from Amazon.com):
Pressured by her unscrupulous family to marry a wealthy man she detests, the young Clarissa Harlowe is tricked into fleeing with the witty and debonair Robert Lovelace and places herself under his protection. Lovelace, however, proves himself to be an untrustworthy rake whose vague promises of marriage are accompanied by unwelcome and increasingly brutal sexual advances. And yet, Clarissa finds his charm alluring, her scrupulous sense of virtue tinged with unconfessed desire. Told through a complex series of interweaving letters, "Clarissa" is a richly ambiguous study of a fatally attracted couple and a work of astonishing power and immediacy. A huge success when it first appeared in 1747, and translated into French and German, it remains one of the greatest of all European novels.
I will be reading Clarissa with JoAnn at Lakeside Musing (see her post). The plan is to read the letters close to the corresponding dates of January 10th through December 18th. As you can see, this is a year long reading project. I've downloaded the Penguin Classics edition to my ereader. JoAnn will be reading the same edition in print.
I know there are a few other people out there who have already expressed an interest in reading along with me and JoAnn. There is also a separate read-a-long with Allie of A Literary Odyssey and Jillian from A Room of One's Own. I believe they are reading during April.
JoAnn and I will probably be posting reading updates once a month and will be chatting on Twitter. I will add a Mr. Linky in my monthly Clarissa posts. Please feel free to leave a link to your own Clarissa posts during the read-a-long; even if you are reading it for another read-a-long or reading it solo.
Would you like to join us? Just leave a comment on this post or with JoAnn.
I already signed up on JoAnn's post, but I'm signing up here too. :) I'll blog about it on Sunday: I just can't resist the corresponding dates idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be so much fun!
ReplyDeleteYay, Eva! Glad you are joining us. Reading by corresponding letter dates was JoAnn's idea which I think is fantastic too :)
ReplyDeleteJoAnn: Definitely going to be fun!
I've had this in my sights a while, I'll join you - this is one of the most motivating ways of reading a book.
ReplyDeleteI lodge in Grub Street: I'm so glad to hear you'll join us Adam!
ReplyDeleteHi Terri - I've signed up at JoAnn's but thought I'd drop by and say hello as your blog is new to me.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic way to read this huge book.
Hi Cat! I'm glad you stopped by! I think this is a great way to read Clarissa too. It's also a great way to make new book blogging friends :)
ReplyDeleteHi Terri!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for linking to Allie and me! I don't plan host a readalong in April for Clarissa. I'm just planning to read it then. I can't speak for Allie, though. She might be planning to host something. Anyone is welcome to join us though! Really, I just mentioned somewhere that I was going to try to read it in thirty days, and Allie planned to do the same, so we decided to synchronize and read in April. There's nothing official happening that I know of. :-D
Have a great time on this, Terri, and all! O is the reason I decided to get on the ball and read Clarissa this year, too. She wrote an awesome post on this, eh? ;)
Jillian: Lol! JoAnn and I were just synchronizing our reading of Clarissa too, but it appears to have taken on a life of its own! I've never hosted/co-hosted anything before so this should be an interesting experience. I stand in awe of you and Allie reading this in one month and look forward to any comments you might blog or tweet. It's great to know others are reading it too. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteWe're in! Like Eva (who I found it through) I love the corresponding dates. It will make it easier to remember to read in nothing else. :D
ReplyDeleteLisa: I'm glad you're going to join us! Reading by letter date certainly does make it easier to remember :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely joining, I cannot face this giant on my own.
ReplyDeletetasseled: Glad you are joining! I'm happy to know others are reading this giant too :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like fun! Sign me up!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit late but I want to be a part of this. I love the idea of reading the letters on the corresponding dates. Please sign me up!
ReplyDeleteLindsey & Christina: Welcome! I'm glad you will be joining us.
ReplyDelete