Samuel Richardson: A biography,

by Thomas Cary Duncan Eaves, Ben D. Kimpel

Samuel Richardson was one of the most prolific printers of the 18th century, and, with his writing and publication of his epistolary novels Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison, became one of the most influential figures in the history of the novel. Even several decades after its original publication, Eaves and Kimpel's biography is still the standard look at the life of this great man.

736 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1971

About the author

Thomas Cary Duncan Eaves (who published under the name T. C. Duncan Eaves) was a professor of English at the University of Arkansas. Eaves graduated Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of North Carolina and earned a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati (1940), as well as a master’s (1943) and PhD (1944) from Harvard University. Before joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 1949, Eaves taught at Rutgers University from 1944 until 1946 and the College of William and Mary from 1946 until 1947.

Reviews

[Catherine]

It may have taken me months, but I finally finished this behemoth! Although it's dated (published 1971), it's still the authoritative edition for good reason; the sheer amount of material they take on and present is truly impressive. If you're a Richardson scholar, it's a must-read. If you're looking for an insight into SR as a printer, look at Maslen or Sale as better resources, and if your looking for literary criticism, a multitude of more contemporary works exist. Biographical details are aided by useful index (including one of correspondence) at the back.

At times, the biography was quite amusing to read. The authors don't hold back from criticizing Sir Charles Grandison as being horridly boring, and they have a healthy dose of scorn for Freudian psychoanalysis. Their own literary criticism is best skimmed, but as far as biographical details, this text can't be beat, even though at times it felt longer than Clarissa.