This classic novel tells  the story, in letters, of the beautiful and virtuous Clarissa Harlowe’s pursuit and abducation by the rake Robert Lovelace. The epistolary structure allows Richardson to creat layered and fully realized characters, as well as an intriguing uncertainty about the realibility of the various “narrators”. “The heroine, Clarissa Harlowe, is at once rational and passionate, self-sacrificing and defiant, and her story has gripped readers since the novel’s first publication in 1747-1748. This new abridgement is designed to retain the novel’s rich characterizations and relationships, and reproduces many individual letters in their entirety. This Broadview Edition provides a uniquely accessible entry point for readers, while retaining much of the powerfull reading experience of the complete novel.//yn