Popular Fiction after Richardson

This article examines the immediate legacy of Samuel Richardson’s Sir Charles Grandison following its publication in late 1753 and early 1754, and the ways in which this work helped to shape the popular novels of the mid-1750s, 1760s, and early 1770s. As much as novels of this period drew upon Grandison for plot points, they responded to the grand ideological vision of Richardson’s final published fiction. I argue that Grandison offers a vision of personal virtue that functions as a greater, organizing social principle. Its ultimate expression is the stable community, bonded together through prosperous marriage and the power of personal example and superintendence. Richardson’s Sir Charles embodies a vision of the magnetically virtuous individual whose duty and pleasure it is to draw together the community—and perhaps even the nation. This conceptualization of virtue provides a key reference point for popular fiction after Richardson, whether it is imitated, repurposed, or openly mocked.