Smollett's Women - (Contributions to the Study of World Literature) by Robert D Spector (Hardcover)

About the Book

Although Smollett's obvious masculine sensibility has become a commonplace in criticism of the 18th-century novel, the basis and particularities of that sensibility have never been examined. In actuality, his treatment of women--heroines, victims, and comic or grotesque--proves far more complex than conventional commentary suggests. This study attempts to show that in each category Smollett's treatment depends on the fictional purposes that these characters serve in his novels.

Book Synopsis

Although Smollett's obvious masculine sensibility has become a commonplace in criticism of the 18th-century novel, the basis and particularities of that sensibility have never been examined. In actuality, his treatment of women--heroines, victims, and comic or grotesque--proves far more complex than conventional commentary suggests. This study attempts to show that in each category Smollett's treatment depends on the fictional purposes that these characters serve in his novels.

Review Quotes

?In this superbly argued study, Spector, the undisputed expert on Smollett and his work, has emphasized the thesis that Smollett's fiction essentially represents the "male-dominated world of 18th-century England" and therefore primarily appeals to the masculine mind. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and up.?-Choice

"In this superbly argued study, Spector, the undisputed expert on Smollett and his work, has emphasized the thesis that Smollett's fiction essentially represents the "male-dominated world of 18th-century England" and therefore primarily appeals to the masculine mind. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate and up."-Choice

About the Author

ROBERT D. SPECTOR is Professor Emeritus of English and Coordinator of both the divisions of Humanities and of Communications, Fine and Performing Arts at Long Island University-Brooklyn. He is the author of over 400 articles and nine books, many of them on Smollett or aspects of 18th-century English literature, including Tobias George Smollett (1989), Tobias Smollett: A Reference Guide (1980), The English Gothic (1983), Backgrounds to Restoration and Eighteenth Century English Literature (1989), and Political Controversy (Greenwood Press, 1992).