Memoirs of a Coxcomb

by Cleland, John; Gladfelder, Hal

• ISBN13: 9781551115689
• ISBN10: 1551115689
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-07-30
• Publisher: Broadview Pr

Summary

Published 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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	6	(1)
Introduction	7	(27)
A Brief Chronology	34	(3)
John Cleland
A Note on the Text	37	(2)
Memoirs of a Coxcomb	39	(182)
Appendix A: Tobias Smollett's Review of Memoirs of a Coxcomb from the Monthly Review (October 1751)	221	(4)
Appendix B: Cleland's Critical Writings on the Novel	225	(17)
1. Review of Tobias Smollett's Peregrine Pickle from The Monthly Review (March 1751)	226	(3)
2. Review of Henry Fielding's Amelia from The Monthly Review (December 1751)	229	(3)
3. ``The Translator's Preface'' to Memoirs Illustrating the Manners of the Present Age	232	(10)
Monsieur Du Clos
Appendix C: On Coxcombs, Fops, and Masculinity	242	(19)
1. From David Garrick, Miss in Her Teens; or, The Medley of Lovers (1747)	242	(6)
2. From The Pretty Gentleman; or, Softness of Manners Vindicated (1747)	248	(4)
3. From John Cleland, Dictionary of Love (1753)	252	(9)
Appendix D: Three Texts by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu	261	(15)
1. The Spectator, no. 573 (28 July 1714)	261	(6)
2. ``A Satyr'' (1717--18)	267	(5)
3. ``An Apology for the Ladies,'' The London Magazine (January 1738)	272	(4)
Appendix E: Cleland on Prostitution, from The Case of the Unfortunate Bosavern Penlez (1749)	276	(7)
Select Bibliography	283