The man of feeling

Description

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?

Description

"In Mackenzie's popular novel of 1771, the sentimental hero's capacity for fine feeling reveals his true virtue. A series of episodes demonstrates Harley's benevolence in an uncaring world as 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? Can sentiment bond society or is it 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 sentimental literature of which it is a pre-eminent example."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Genres

• Fiction

Series Statement

• Oxford world's classics
• Oxford world's classics (Oxford University Press)

Other Editions

• The man of feelingOxford University Press2001-01-01
• The man of feeling.printed for W. Sleater, D. Chamberlaine, J. Hoey, jun. J. Williams, J. Potts, and R. Moncrieffe1771-01-01
• The man of feelingW. Strahan1773-01-01
• The man of feelingMicroformprinted for W. Sleater, D. Chamberlaine, J. Potts, J. Hoey, J. Williams, R. Moncrieffe, and T. Walker1780-01-01
• The man of feelingMicroformPrinted and sold by Robert Bell, in Third-Street.1782-01-01
• The man of feelingPrinted and Sold by Robert Bell, in Third-Street1782-01-01