Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T12:59:15.874Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

General Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2022

Albert J. Rivero
Affiliation:
Marquette University, Wisconsin
Get access

Summary

Samuel Richardson's first full-length work of prose fiction, Pamela: or, Virtue Rewarded, was published anonymously on 6 November 1740 in two small duodecimo volumes; it became an instant bestseller and cultural event. Posing as ‘editor’ of a genuine correspondence, Richardson gave his readers, ‘In a Series of Familiar Letters’ (title page), the fascinating story of a young servant-girl who, withstanding the assaults of her late lady's rakish son, manages to convert him from his wicked ways and becomes his wife. Combining pious commentary with sexual titillation, and offering what its detractors affirmed was a recipe for social climbing, the novel spawned many publications, both from those who relished its religious message and from those who deplored its dubious morality. The so-called ‘Pamela controversy’, especially afterHenry Fielding joined the fray with Shamela (first published on 2 April 1741, with a second edition appearing on 3 November 1741), has often been interpreted as one of the crucial events in the development of the English novel. By May 1742, Pamela: or, Virtue Rewarded had reached its sixth edition (in octavo format, with illustrations). In an attempt to legitimize his heroine's social elevation and to reassert his right as the sole purveyor of her story, Richardson had published on 7 December 1741 a continuation in two volumes, detailing Pamela's life ‘In her Exalted Condition’. An inveterate reviser, Richardson continued to tinker with both parts of the novel for the rest of his life, with an ‘eighth edition’ (the fourth of the sequel) being published on 18 October 1761, three months after his death. A ‘new edition, being the fourteenth’, claiming to incorporate the author's final ‘corrections and alterations’ (title page), was published in four volumes in 1801. Issued by what was essentially the same group of booksellers, a ‘fifteenth’ edition, also in four volumes and with further corrections, appeared in 1810.

Such, in short, is the history of the publication of what was arguably the most influential novel published in Britain in the eighteenth century. This history, as well as the history of the novel's initial critical reception, has often been told. It is not my purpose here to rehearse either one or both of these histories in detail, but instead to offer a brief general introduction to Pamela: or, Virtue Rewarded that will outline circumstances surrounding its composition, publication, early reception, and revisions.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×