Names from Novels – Pamela, Roxana, Belinda, Humphry

I noticed the other day that my brother was reading Pamela by Samuel Richardson. Then I spotted Roxana by Daniel Defoe in his stack. Intrigued, I asked him about all these “name” books he was suddenly reading.

Turns out that one of his classes next semester focuses on the 18th-century English novel, and that he’ll also be studying:

• Belinda by Maria Edgeworth
• The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by Tobias Smollett
• Henrietta by Charlotte Lennox
• The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless by Eliza Haywood
• The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, the Great by Henry Fielding

Quite a name-centric syllabus, isn’t it?

I’m not familiar with these authors, but many of their other titles also feature names. Some examples:

If I’m able to wrest either Pamela or Roxana from my brother’s vice-like grip long enough to finish one of them, I’ll come back and give you a book report. :)