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The Novel ' The Expedition Of Humphry Clinker ' By Tobias Smollett

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The epistolary novel, a novel that is written entirely in the form of letters, first gained traction in the early 18th century. Two epistolary novels that encapsulated this style very well were Dangerous Liaisons and Evelina. The similarities are also not solely in terms of writing style. Both of these authors use the letters that their characters write as a method of deception to obtain what they truly desire, even if it does not appear as such. Despite the divide that separates them in genre, both Burney and Laclos exhibited this style very well as the authors used these letters to convey their characters goals, intentions, and desires to the reader in their works.
We will first examine the novel by Pierre Ambrose Laclos, Dangerous Liaisons. There are a few reasons why Laclos’ letters provided a sense of importance stylistically. Dangerous Liaisons was not a typical work, as it was the first French epistolary novel to use more than one perspective (Brittanica). As we know The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett was published in 1771, had multiple perspectives displayed through letters, but Smollett was a Scot, and his work was set in both England and Scotland. His work was never able to gain much popularity in France. French literature in general did not implore this style; they usually followed a more traditionalist model when it came to the novel. He was also the first French author to employ letters that were not designed solely for reporting events.

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