Product Description

'a book I prize next to the Bible' Robert Burns Mackenzie's hugely popular novel of 1771 is the foremost work of the sentimental movement, in which sentiment and sensibility were allied with true virtue, and sensitivity is the mark of the man of feeling. The hero, Harley, is followed in a series of episodes demonstrating his benevolence in an uncaring world: he assists the down-trodden, loses his love, and fails to achieve worldly success. The novel asks a series of vital questions: what morality is possible in a complex commercial world? Does trying to maintain it make you a saint or a fool? Is sentiment merely a luxury for the leisured classes? This edition reprints Brian Vickers's authoritative text, with a new introduction that discusses the novel in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment and European sentimentalism.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #146144 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly moving
This novel was very popular in its day but since then often regarded as laughable for its over-top emotions. I had to read it for a course but I was surprised to find it many parts of it genuinely affecting. Some sections do make you laugh but because it's so short (the novel itself is less than a hundred pages in the World's Classics edition), it's much more effective and readable than most other sentimental novels. It is very sympathetic to the plight of social outcasts of the time like prostitutes, beggars, the poor, the insane and people of other races. Though it isn't really hard to read, be prepared for an unusual novel which isn't straightforward like other classic novels.