But in modern times, literary fiction presents a conundrum: The more craftily constructed its suspense, the more it tempts its advocates - in the interest of airtime - to reach into a serious tale and pull out something resembling a tabloid headline. No reviewer could blow the surprise of a convict benefactor or Miss Havisham’s cobwebby cake when these were yet unwritten. The last writers to be unscathed by spoilers were probably the Victorians, who pounded out the likes of “Great Expectations” in weekly, serialized installments. To experience this novel exactly as the author intended, a reader should avoid the flap copy and everything else written about it.
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