The Eighteenth-Century Mentor Book

Abstract

The modern definition and associations of the word ‘mentor’ — a guide or adviser to a less experienced person — can be traced back to François Fénelon's didactic novel, Les aventures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse (1699). The novel was one of the most widely read works of the eighteenth century, but its influence on British didactic literature has received little critical attention. This article explores the development of the mentor book, a subgenre within the guide tradition, which invoked deeply interpersonal and mutually affectionate nature of the mentoring relationship in their titles and personified the text as an adviser of the reader. Fénelon's characterization of the mentor figure was imitated in the mode of instruction and pedagogical strategy of these mentor books, which reflected changing perceptions of the didactic role of print on eighteenth-century society and culture.