Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Samuel Richardson's Pamela. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Pamela: Introduction
Pamela: Plot Summary
Pamela: Detailed Summary & Analysis
Pamela: Themes
Pamela: Quotes
Pamela: Characters
Pamela: Symbols
Pamela: Literary Devices
Pamela: Quizzes
Pamela: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Samuel Richardson
Historical Context of Pamela
Other Books Related to Pamela
- Full Title: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded
- When Written: 1739–1740
- Where Written: London, England
- When Published: 1740
- Literary Period: Enlightenment
- Genre: Epistolary Novel, Psychological Novel
- Setting: Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire, England
- Climax: Pamela marries Mr. B and is accepted into upper-class society.
- Antagonist: Mr. B’s wicked behavior
- Point of View: First Person
Extra Credit for Pamela
Too Close to Home. One of Samuel Richardson’s most famous critics was Henry Fielding, who produced not one but two major parodies of Pamela (Shamela and Joseph Andrews). Fielding’s real life bears some similarities to the life of the fictional Mr. B—Fielding also allegedly attempted to kidnap and marry a 15-year-old girl (his cousin Sarah Andrew).
On Second Thought... Samuel Richardson revised his own novels extensively over the course of his lifetime. Many critics prefer the earliest versions (which are most commonly printed today), believing that Richardson self-censored the later ones in response to criticism.