Synopses & Reviews
In a series of letters to her parents, 15-year-old Pamela Andrews recounts her tribulations as a servant in the house of Mr. B. The infatuated master's repeated attempts at seduction―foiled again and again by the quick-witted maid―lead to Pamela's abduction and imprisonment in a remote country house, where the unlikely couple truly come to know one another.
Samuel Richardson, one of England's early novelists, published Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded anonymously in 1740. The first bestseller in English fiction, Pamela excited a storm of controversy, in which it was both denounced as thinly veiled pornography and praised for setting an example of righteous conduct. Its publication marks a defining moment in the development of the modern novel, in which the genre suddenly and irrevocably developed the potential for moral seriousness. Three centuries later, Richardson's novel remains an engaging tale of psychological complexity.
Synopsis
A country gentleman attempts to seduce his maidservant and ends up falling in love with her in this literary landmark, first published in 1740 and regarded as the English language's first novel.
Synopsis
A quick-witted maidservant repeatedly thwarts a country gentleman's increasingly urgent attempts to seduce her. Upon reading the virtuous young woman's letters, the master is captivated by her intelligence and falls in love — as readers have done since the story's 1740 publication. An enduring literary landmark, Pamela is considered the first English-language novel.
About the Author
A well-established printer, Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) wrote his first novel at the age of 51. Its success led to his overnight fame as one of the most popular and admired writers of his era. In addition to Pamela, his novels include Clarissa and The History of Sir Charles Grandison. Richardson's works were highly influential on sentimental novelists and the authors who later parodied them, including Jane Austen.