Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Samuel Richardson was bitter rivals with Henry Fielding, another eighteenth-century dude who wrote books. Fielding basically made his career out of making fun of Richardson. (source)
Couldn't stop crying during The Fault in Our Stars? Richardson's fans wrote to him about how much Clarissa made them cry: "I verily believe I have shed a pint of tears," wrote one. (source)
Care to try out some eighteenth-century soldier slang? Richardson was the first to use the expression "swearing like a trooper" in Clarissa. (source)
According to a professor at Oregon State University, Clarissa is one of the hardest books to read cover-to-cover. All the more reason to power through—it's the marathon of reading! (source)
Want to read Clarissa in real-time? Start it on January 10th and finish it on December 18th. (source)
The name "Clarissa" has a rich history. Did Virginia Woolf have the book in mind when she wrote Mrs. Dalloway? (Spoiler: we think yes.) (source)