"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.
