In order to write a review, or even a summary of this volume, I was forced to look back through the contents to recall what important events happened. I was relieved to discover that I was not mistaken in thinking that not much really happened over the course of these 350-odd pages. It begins with the conclusion of Dr. Bartlett’s transmission of Clementina’s plight. This is followed by a number of minor domestic events: Sir Charles orchestrates the reunion of his good friend Beauchamp with his father and step-mother, and set up seemingly several dozen weddings, including the wedding of his own sister Charlotte to Lord G—-. The latter relationship is interesting in large part because it is in some ways an extension of that of Anna Howe and Mr. Hickman, who had not yet married at the end of Clarissa. Charlotte is clearly at fault much of the time, but I have no doubt that she will improve herself by the end of the book, under the angelic influences of her brother’s and Miss Byron’s relationship.
The biggest revelation occurs in the very end of the book, when Sir Charles returns to Bologna in a renewed attempt to restore Jeronymo’s body and Clementina’s mind to health, by his visit and the assistance of an English doctor. In the last few pages, we hear from Sir Charles’s own pen an admission of his attachment to Harriet, which has been strongly hinted at by all parties but never confessed by the man himself.
Having racked my brain to think of something more interesting than a synopsis to say about this volume, I am at a loss. So I’ll just post the link to the text and leave it at that:
Sir Charles Grandison, Volume 4
Onward and upward.