The Novels of Samuel Richardson: Complete and Unabridged; Volume 16

This volume is part of an early twentieth-century collection edited by William Lyon Phelps, a renowned Yale professor and literary critic who sought to make the foundational works of Samuel Richardson accessible to a modern audience. Published during a period when Richardson's epistolary novels were being re-evaluated for their psychological depth, this set was designed to present the complete and unabridged texts with scholarly introductions that contextualized Richardson's role in the development of the English novel.

The design of this series reflects the classic aesthetic favored by publishers in the early 1900s, often featuring restrained binding and readable typography intended for a refined home library. Phelps’s editorial work was generally well-received by his contemporaries, who valued his ability to bridge the gap between academic study and general readership, ensuring that Richardson’s complex, lengthy narratives remained a fixture in the literary canon of the era.