The History of Clarissa Harlowe

This novel, original published in 1748, tells the story of tragic story of Clarissa Harlowe, a young woman whose family has recently acquired wealth and wants to be part of the aristocracy. Pressured by her unscrupulous family to marry a wealthy man she detests, Clarissa is tricked into fleeing with the witty and debonair Robert Lovelace and places herself under his protection. Lovelace, however, proves himself to be an untrustworthy rake whose vague promises of marriage are accompanied by unwelcome and increasingly brutal sexual advances. And yet, Clarissa finds his charm alluring, her scrupulous sense of virtue tinged with unconfessed desire. --Publisher description.