Pamela [Volume 1]

Table of Contents

Clarissa Harlowe , or the history of a young lady (in 9

volumes)

Pamela , or Virtue Rewarded

Samuel Richardson Biography

Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady* is an epistolary

novel by Samuel Richardson, published in 1748. It tells the tragic story of a

heroine whose quest for virtue is continually thwarted by her family, and is one

of the longest novels in the English language.

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel by Samuel

Richardson, first published in 1740. It tells the story of a maid named Pamela

whose master, Mr. B, makes unwanted advances towards her. She rejects him

continually, and her virtue is eventually rewarded when he shows his sincerity

by proposing an equitable marriage to her. In the second part of the novel,

Pamela attempts to accommodate herself to upper-class society and to build a

successful relationship with him. The story was widely mocked at the time for

its perceived licentiousness and it inspired Henry Fielding (among many others)

to write two parodies: Shamela (1741), about Pamela's true identity; and

Joseph Andrews* (1742), about Pamela s brother.

-- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.