Clarissa is of lower birth than her would-be lover: the Harlowes are indeed country gentry, but only recently enriched in the city, while the devious Lovelace is a young nobleman. This is a margin sufficient to breed suspicion on the one side and arrogance on the other; a story of male determination pitted against feminine principles and told in the form of letters. There is a post-script of approximately one hour to this story which for technical reasons we are unable to include.