Civil war (1642-1648) and the English Bourgeois Revolution

3. The Mature and Late enlightenment. S.Richardson, H. Fielding, L. Sterne
THE MATURE ENLIGHTENMENT (1740-1750). The genre of the realistic didactic novel was born and was the most popular genre. It was represented in the works of Samuel Richardson, Tobias Smollett and Henry Fielding.
Samuel Richardson is considered to be the creator of the family psychological novel. Was a son of a joiner. Age of 17 he moved to Derbyshire in London, where he worked as a typesetter. He married the daughter of his boss, so he inherited the property and became the owner of the printing-house. In literature he tried to penetrate into the inner world of his characters, understand their relation to moral, his novels have moralistic character: Among his most famous novels are the following ones: "Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded” (1740); "Clarissa; or the History of a Young Lady" (1747 – 1748).
Henry Fielding is the father of the English social novel.
Was born in an aristocratic family. Was educated in a privileged school in Intone. In 1728 entered Leaden University in Holland, but didn’t graduate, because had to earn living.
In literature he had radical-critical, anti puritanical views; materialistic outlook with the features of humanism, vivacity and free-thinking; he was the first who combined picaresque novel with family novel; criticised the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy; he also showed the unfairness of the law system, corruption. Novels “The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling” 1749, “The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr Abraham Adams”1742
LATE ENLIGHTENMENT (1750 – 1780) The writers of the period also expressed the democratic bourgeois tendencies of their time. And they regarded feelings, the name of the period – Sentimentalism.
The main representatives of the period are Laurence Sterne and Oliver Goldsmith ("The Vicar of Wakefield" - "Векфильдский священник") in the genre of the novel, Richard Sheridan ("School for Scandal" - "Школа злословия") - in drama.