PAMELA

SAMUEL RICHARDSON

ISBN 10: 0140431403 / ISBN 13: 9780140431407

Published by PENGUIN BOOKS LTD, 1981

About this Item

SAMUEL RICHARDSON'S PAMELA IS A CAPTIVATING STORY OF ONE YOUNG WOMAN'S REBELLION AGAINST THE SOCIAL ORDER, EDITED BY PETER SABOR WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY MARGARET A. DOODY IN PENGUIN CLASSICS. FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD PAMELA ANDREWS, ALONE IN THE WORLD, IS PURSUED BY HER DEAD MISTRESS'S SON. ALTHOUGH SHE IS ATTRACTED TO MR B, SHE HOLDS OUT AGAINST HIS DEMANDS AND THREATS OF ABDUCTION AND RAPE, DETERMINED TO PROTECT HER VIRGINITY AND ABIDE BY HER MORAL STANDARDS. PSYCHOLOGICALLY ACUTE IN ITS EXPLORATIONS OF SEX, FREEDOM AND POWER, RICHARDSON'S FIRST NOVEL CAUSED A SENSATION WHEN IT WAS PUBLISHED, WITH ITS DEPICTION OF A SERVANT HEROINE WHO DARES TO ASSERT HERSELF. RICHLY COMIC AND FULL OF LIVELY SCENES AND DESCRIPTIONS, PAMELA CONTAINS A DIVERSE CAST OF CHARACTERS RANGING FROM THE VULGAR AND MALEVOLENT MRS JEWKES TO THE AGGRESSIVE BUT AWKWARD COUNTRY SQUIRE WHO SERVES THIS UNUSUAL LOVE STORY AS BOTH ITS VILLAIN AND HERO. IN HER INTRODUCTION, MARGARET ANN DOODY DISCUSSES THE EPISTOLARY GENRE OF NOVELS AND EXAMINES THE ROLE OF WOMEN AND CLASS DIFFERENCES. THIS EDITION, BASED ON THE 1801 TEXT AND INCORPORATING CORRECTIONS MADE IN 1810, MAKES RICHARDSON'S FINAL VERSION OF THE TWO-VOLUME GENERALLY AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME. SAMUEL RICHARDSON (1689-1761) WAS BORN IN DERBYSHIRE, THE SON OF A JOINER. HE RECEIVED LITTLE FORMAL EDUCATION, BUT IN 1706 WAS APPRENTICED TO A LONDON PRINTER, GOING ON TO BECOME A LEADING FIGURE OF THE TRADE IN THE CAPITAL. PAMELA ORIGINATED AS A VOLUME OF MODEL LETTERS FOR UNSKILLED LETTER-WRITERS, BUT AS RICHARDSON BECAME MORE FASCINATED BY THE CHARACTERS IN HIS LETTERS THAN THE LETTERS THEMSELVES, THE GERM OF A NOVEL BEGAN TO EMERGE. UPON ITS PUBLICATION IN 1740 PAMELA OR, VIRTUE REWARDED BECAME A NATIONAL SENSATION. IF YOU ENJOYED PAMELA, YOU MIGHT LIKE DANIEL DEFOE'S MOLL FLANDERS, ALSO AVAILABLE IN PENGUIN CLASSICS.

Seller Inventory # L000040323US

Bibliographic Details

• Title: PAMELA
• Publisher: PENGUIN BOOKS LTD
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140431403
• ISBN 13: 9780140431407
• Binding: copertina morbida
• Illustrator: DOODY ANN MARGARET SABOR PETER
• Condition: buone
• Dust Jacket Condition: buone

About this title

Synopsis

"I cannot be patient, I cannot be passive, when my virtue is in danger."

Fifteen-year-old Pamela Andrews, alone and unprotected, is relentlessly pursued by her dead mistress’s son. Although she is attracted to young Mr B., she holds out against his demands and threats of abduction and rape, determined to defend her virginity and abide by her own moral standards. Psychologically acute in its investigations of sex, freedom and power, Richardson’s first novel caused a sensation when it was first published, with its depiction of a servant heroine who dares to assert herself. Richly comic and full of lively scenes and descriptions, Pamela contains a diverse cast of characters, ranging from the vulgar and malevolent Mrs Jewkes to the aggressive but awkward country squire who serves this unusual love story as both its villain and its hero.

This edition incorporates all the revisions made by Richardson in his lifetime. Margaret A. Doody’s introduction discusses the genre of epistolary novels, and examines characterization, the role of women and class differences in Pamela.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

About the Author

Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) was born in Derbyshire, the son of a joiner. He received little formal education and in 1706 was apprenticed to a printer in London. Thirteen years later he set himself up as a stationer and printer and became of the leading figures in the trade. He printed political material, newspapers and literature. He began writing Pamela as a result of a suggestion from friends that he should compile a book of model letters for use by unskilled writers. Pamela was a great success and went on to write Clarissa, one of the masterpieces of European literature. 

Margaret Anne Doody is a professor of Literature at the University of Notre Dame and has published widely on in literary criticism.