Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 January 2012
Writing to Johannes Stinstra in 1753, Samuel Richardson revealed his childhood fascination for learning the secrets of the heart. He began his writing career as a precocious busybody whose curiosity thrived in his crowded urban world. Neighbors, particularly young women, revealed small sins and desires to serious young Samuel. One victim under his surveillance took offense. Richardson was “not Eleven Years old when [he] wrote, spontaneously, to a Widow of near Fifty … who was … continually fomenting Quarrels & Disturbances, by Backbiting & Scandal.” Adopting “the Stile and Address of a Person in Years,” Richardson “expostulated with her. But my Handwriting was known.” The boy was discovered and “chid” for his freedoms, but he continued to be an “early Favourite with all the young Women of Taste & Reading in the Neighbourhood,” reading to them while they sewed. When he was “not more than Thirteen,” he served as “Secretary” to several young women who needed help in writing their love letters. We have then a “bashful” and grave adolescent writer in the making, given to impersonations, happy to act as amanuensis to encourage or chide, “at the very time that the Heart … was open before me, overflowing,” and the lover was “dreading to be taken at her Word.”
Just as happy to expostulate with a backbiting zealot, Richardson finds power in assuming a character while exposing the heart. In both examples the power of the impersonated style, that of the elderly scold or the nervous lover disguising her feelings, is profound.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.