Description
Book SynopsisPublished in 1751, John Cleland’s second novel (after the notorious
Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) is a witty and complex portrait of aristocratic British society in the mid-eighteenth century. Its young protagonist, Sir William Delamore, meets, falls in love with, and pursues the mysterious heiress Lydia. Rather than a conventional romance, however, the novel is an acerbic social satire, and Sir William an unreliable narrator and incomplete hero. In its experiments with narrative form and its sophisticated examination of masculine identity, Memoirs of a Coxcomb is an important marker in the development of the eighteenth-century novel.
This Broadview edition includes a critical introduction that places
Memoirs in the context of Cleland’s life and literary career. Also included is a broad selection of appendices, including Tobias Smollett’s review of the novel, selections from Cleland’s criticism, three texts by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and contemporary documents on masculinity (particularly the figures of the coxcomb and the fop) and prostitution.
Trade Review“Hal Gladfelder has done all those interested in eighteenth-century literature, and in the history of sexuality and gender, a great service with this unprecedented scholarly edition of Memoirs of a Coxcomb. The elegant critical introduction, judicious textual notes, and well-chosen appendices—both useful and diverting—make this an invaluable text.” — Ann Louise Kibbie, Bowdoin College
“This is an excellent edition of Cleland’s intriguing Memoirs of a Coxcomb, a novel that offers a sort of masculine version of his more famous Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. This book will add a new dimension to discussions of the novel, eighteenth-century culture, masculinity, and gender.” — Laura Rosenthal, University of Maryland
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Introduction
John Cleland: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text
Memoirs of a Coxcomb
Appendix A: Tobias Smollett’s Review of Memoirs of a Coxcomb from The Monthly Review (October 1751)
Appendix B: Clelands Critical Writings on the Novel
- Review of Tobias Smollett’s Peregrine Pickle from The Monthly Review (March 1751)
- Review of Henry Fielding’s Amelia from The Monthly Review (December 1751)
- “The Translator’s Preface” to Memoirs Illustrating the Manners of the Present Age, by Monsieur Du Clos (1752)
Appendix C: On Coxcombs, Fops, and Masculinity
- From David Garrick, Miss in Her Teens; or, The Medley of Lovers (1747)
- From The Pretty Gentleman; or, Softness of Manners Vindicated (1747)
- From John Cleland, Dictionary of Love (1753)
Appendix D: Three Texts by Lady Mary Wordey Montagu
-
The Spectator, no. 573 (28 July 1714)
- “A Satyr” (1717-18)
- “An Apology for the Ladies,” The London Magazine (January 1738)
Appendix E: Cleland on Prostitution, from The Case of the Unfortunate Bosavern Penlez (1749)
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