Dr. Fordyce says novels are very unsuitable for women to read; their morals often leave much to be desired, they have nothing of worth to tell us, and they convey no proper instruction.” Elizabeth sat up straight, serious now. “For me, that is one of their chief recommendations. I do not care to be told what to think at every turn of a page. And I do not agree that they have nothing to tell us. Is Charles Grandison to be thus dismissed? Tristram Shandy? Tom Jones? Works in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature is displayed? The greatest powers of the mind described? No, I cannot
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