Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, a novel by S. Richardson (1740–1).

The first of Richardson's three novels, Pamela consists, like them, entirely of letters and journals, of which Richardson presents himself as the ‘editor’. He raised the epistolary form of novel to a level hitherto unknown, and transformed it to display his own particular skills.

There are six correspondents in Pamela, but Pamela Andrews, the heroine, herself provides most of the letters and journals, with the ‘hero’, Mr B., having only two. Pamela is a young maidservant, whose mistress has just died when the story opens. The lady's son, Mr B., becomes enamoured of Pamela, and, taking a dishonourable advantage of her position, pursues her with his advances. She indignantly repels them, leaves the house, is pursued by B., and shows considerable astuteness in defending herself. Finally B., being much in love with her, comes to terms and decides to marry her.

Because of the success of Pamela and because of the number of forged continuations that began to appear, Pamela, Part II appeared in 1741. Here Pamela is exhibited, through various small and separate instances, as the perfect wife, patiently leading her profligate husband to reform; a devoted mother who brings about the penitence of the wicked. Much space is given over to discussion of moral, domestic, and general subjects.

Shamela (1741, almost certainly by Fielding) vigorously mocked what the author regarded as the hypocritical morality of Pamela; and Fielding's Joseph Andrews, which begins as a parody of Pamela, appeared in 1742.