Rating: 
Summary: "...you must read it for its sentiment."
Review: Samuel Richardson penned this as an older man after a lifetime in the printing business. Personally, he was a decent, respectable, rather squeamish fellow living a decent, respectable and circumscribed life. He knows almost nothing of women, of course, but pens many pages about what he would *like* to see in one. Pamela's trembling and teary eponymous heroine has one outstanding characteristic: an iron clad, if decidedly tedious, virtuousness. As she stumbles through a variety of tried and true insults, she remains spotless, pure, and oh so dull. One wishes, on about page 300, that she'd fall once or twice just to make things a bit more interesting. But then, I fear Mr. Richardson, no Fielding, would have never been able to bring himself to write such a scene. Books, in his orderly and earnest mind, should be uplifting and instructive.In the beastiary of 18th century female heroes, poor one-dimensional Pamela doesn't do well, and the book itself, with its static narrative and repetitious tub thumping on virtue, with the magical "Happy Ending", ages poorly. Defoe's crafty, bumptuous Moll Flanders, for example, although not a psychological study by any means, continues to amuse with her businesslike narrative on getting ahead with what one's got. Fielding's pastiche, Shamela, a take-off of the Pamela (as is Joseph Andrews) published shortly after Richardson's book, turns the book inside out and, like most good satire, is shorter and easier to read. Later, more durable (because more complex) heroines were penned by Fanny Burney and Jane Austin. All have aged well because all are vigorously human, warts and all. After Pamela was published to great acclaim, the elderly author gained a coterie of older women fluttering about him, and became something of a literary lion. The book was shoved into the hands of young misses in the hopes of moral instruction, who were probably bored to tears with it. It was touted from the pulpit and a big hit with male tastemakers who, even if they couldn't make their way through the thing, felt their preconceptions of female virtue to be amply bolstered. Poor plotless Pamela, forever the victim, is hardly more than a set of platitudes waiting to be rescued by a paradigm - as Samuel Johnson once said "If you try reading Pamela for its story, you would hang yourself; you must read it for its sentiment" - but at least Richardson troubled to give her a voice. His great contribution to literature was his expansion of the epistolary style, and this book continuous to be read, but for its sentiment, or its curiosity value, is hard to say.
Rating: 
Summary: A Novel of Mutual Seduction and Instruction
Review: Samuel Richardson's first novel, 1740's "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded" is a clever and rich novel. Written to entertain and edify readers of both sexes, "Pamela" is an epistolary novel, presented in the form of letters and a journal between young Pamela Andrews and her parents. From the viewpoint of a domestic servant, Pamela illustrates the complex relationships between commoners and aristocrats, including the range of socially and economically diverse people between those extremes. The novel also explores the erotics of social ambition within the context of eighteenth century bourgeois religious ethics. Pamela is a mid-teen waiting maid, and as the novel begins, the Lady she serves has just died. Prior to her death, this Lady recommends her servants, and particularly Pamela, who has been educated and refined above her social station, to the Lady's son, a strapping young man, Mr. B. Mr. B, with his own plans for Pamela, gladly takes her into his service, rather than send her to his sister, Lady Davers. Shortly after entering his service, Pamela begins to be uncomfortable, as Mr. B starts trying to seduce her. Pamela, in correspondence with her parents, and under the direct advice of the housekeeper, Mrs. Jervis, vows to protect her virtue and chastity. The rest of the novel deals with Pamela's efforts to fend off Mr. B's advances, in conditions that often amount to imprisonment and attempted rape. There are many noteworthy issues in "Pamela," first of all being the figuration of the word "virtue." In the context of the novel, and its main character, the word has gender connotations, which align virtue with chastity and marriagability. It is a somewhat radical concept that Pamela, as a common, if obscenely beatiful, servant, should be so assiduous and insistent on the value of her virginity. Her parents tell her that she should rather die than forfeit her innocence. In higher social circumstances, chastity has definite marriage value, whereas Pamela, whose family is all but destitute, has no way to provide for her - her ability to marry is dependent to a great extent on remaining virtuous. One of the things "Pamela" forces us to think about is whether men can or should be held to the same sexual moral standards as women, and accustom us to the idea of unequal (social and economic) relationships. Another important and valuable thing we get from "Pamela" is the idea of character and self as written things, as text. Mr. B chides Pamela for writing about him, and the possibility that her letters circulate with disparaging comments on himself. Of course, the more commonplace notion of employers giving "characters" of their servants, or recommendations makes Pamela's writings all the more interesting. The fact that the vast majority of the novel consists of Pamela's writing - we get the clear message that it is the point of view of a young, lower class woman that gives us our ideas about everything in the novel. The way that Pamela writes herself and those around her, including the vile and sexually-ambiguous Mrs. Jewkes seems to indicate the truth-value and propriety of Pamela's opinions and observations. The fact that other characters in the novel read Pamela's letters is also important here, as they not only better understand themselves, but Pamela and her own motivations. The way especially, that Pamela and Mr. B read and learn from each other throughout the novel, is fascinating. Richardson would go on to further elaborate these themes in completely different social circumstances, and with a great deal more terror and anxiety in "Clarissa," but Pamela has its own distinct charms and appeal. In form and content, the influence of "Pamela" can be felt and appreciated from around the time of its publication (see Henry Fielding's "Shamela" and "Joseph Andrews") through to the 20th century and beyond (see "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker). Important to note, though - this review pertains specifically to the 1740 first edition of "Pamela" published by Riverside. There are significant differences, modifications in language and tone between this and, say, the 1801 edition published in the Penguin Classics. Each has its own merits, so buy and read at your discretion!
Rating:
Summary: A Novel of Mutual Seduction and Instruction
Review: Samuel Richardson's first novel, 1740's "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded" is a clever and rich novel. Written to entertain and edify readers of both sexes, "Pamela" is an epistolary novel, presented in the form of letters and a journal between young Pamela Andrews and her parents. From the viewpoint of a domestic servant, Pamela illustrates the complex relationships between commoners and aristocrats, including the range of socially and economically diverse people between those extremes. The novel also explores the erotics of social ambition within the context of eighteenth century bourgeois religious ethics. Pamela is a mid-teen waiting maid, and as the novel begins, the Lady she serves has just died. Prior to her death, this Lady recommends her servants, and particularly Pamela, who has been educated and refined above her social station, to the Lady's son, a strapping young man, Mr. B. Mr. B, with his own plans for Pamela, gladly takes her into his service, rather than send her to his sister, Lady Davers. Shortly after entering his service, Pamela begins to be uncomfortable, as Mr. B starts trying to seduce her. Pamela, in correspondence with her parents, and under the direct advice of the housekeeper, Mrs. Jervis, vows to protect her virtue and chastity. The rest of the novel deals with Pamela's efforts to fend off Mr. B's advances, in conditions that often amount to imprisonment and attempted rape. There are many noteworthy issues in "Pamela," first of all being the figuration of the word "virtue." In the context of the novel, and its main character, the word has gender connotations, which align virtue with chastity and marriagability. It is a somewhat radical concept that Pamela, as a common, if obscenely beatiful, servant, should be so assiduous and insistent on the value of her virginity. Her parents tell her that she should rather die than forfeit her innocence. In higher social circumstances, chastity has definite marriage value, whereas Pamela, whose family is all but destitute, has no way to provide for her - her ability to marry is dependent to a great extent on remaining virtuous. One of the things "Pamela" forces us to think about is whether men can or should be held to the same sexual moral standards as women, and accustom us to the idea of unequal (social and economic) relationships. Another important and valuable thing we get from "Pamela" is the idea of character and self as written things, as text. Mr. B chides Pamela for writing about him, and the possibility that her letters circulate with disparaging comments on himself. Of course, the more commonplace notion of employers giving "characters" of their servants, or recommendations makes Pamela's writings all the more interesting. The fact that the vast majority of the novel consists of Pamela's writing - we get the clear message that it is the point of view of a young, lower class woman that gives us our ideas about everything in the novel. The way that Pamela writes herself and those around her, including the vile and sexually-ambiguous Mrs. Jewkes seems to indicate the truth-value and propriety of Pamela's opinions and observations. The fact that other characters in the novel read Pamela's letters is also important here, as they not only better understand themselves, but Pamela and her own motivations. The way especially, that Pamela and Mr. B read and learn from each other throughout the novel, is fascinating. Richardson would go on to further elaborate these themes in completely different social circumstances, and with a great deal more terror and anxiety in "Clarissa," but Pamela has its own distinct charms and appeal. In form and content, the influence of "Pamela" can be felt and appreciated from around the time of its publication (see Henry Fielding's "Shamela" and "Joseph Andrews") through to the 20th century and beyond (see "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker). Important to note, though - this review pertains specifically to the 1740 first edition of "Pamela" published by Riverside. There are significant differences, modifications in language and tone between this and, say, the 1801 edition published in the Penguin Classics. Each has its own merits, so buy and read at your discretion!
Rating:
Summary: Worth reading
Review: The novel consists of a collection of letters that the heroine writes to her family and friends. In Part I of "Pamela", we are told the story of a young maid of fifteen who resists her master's improper advances. Her virtue is rewarded by her becoming his wife. In Part II of the same book ("Pamela in her exalted condition"), we see her life as a married woman in society. She is depicted as a perfect wife and mother who tactfully reforms her husband and brings harmony to all around her. I possess an older version and don't know whether this one here contains Part II. When the novel appeared (in 1740) it became an instant success, the one subject of conversation everywhere... not in the least because, as Watt ironically said, it combined "the attractions of a sermon and a strip tease". I couldn't read it in its entirety, had to skip some passages because they were extremely boring - for example it takes Richardson almost a page to describe (through one of Pamela's letters, of course) the list of things she intends to take home. Pamela is a very interesting character, very alive, full of extraordinary contradictions. She is very humble (nauseatingly so, sometimes) but on the other hand she has very strong feelings - she bites her fan in fury when the sister of her master shows up after Pamela's wedding to abuse her. She truly wants to preserve her "best jewel", her virtue, for the sake of her faith, but on the other hand she is fully aware of the material advantages her marriage to her master will bring her, better than if she were his mistress. This is perhaps best shown by her chiding her maid for behaving wantonly in these (outrageous!) words: "And if you hope to emulate my good fortune, do you think *this* is the way?" I absolutely admit that this is far from being an extraordinarily interesting book for the people of today. I cannot think of anything in it that would even remotely have any correspondence with the modern society. If for nothing else, the book is worth reading because it provides a clear and accurate picture of life in England in the eighteenth century.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of Fun
Review: This book is almost impossible to rate. It is didactic, tedious, chauvinistic, dogmatic and implausible. But boy, is it fun! I've read it twice and both times have been amazed at how quickly I was sucked into Richardson's world. And both times I came away thinking, Is this book really as psychologically complex as I think it is or am I reading too much into it? In a way, the novel Pamela strikes me the same way as Shakespeare's play Taming of the Shrew. Yes, the sexism is irritating (not to say, frightening when looked at in historical context: Pamela really doesn't have a chance), yet the characters live in their own right. Mr. B is less clearly delineated than Pamela, and Pamela comes off as incredibly sanctimonious in parts, but the tension and drama between them and the other characters is real and vital.(For instance, Richardson explores the sibling rivalry between Mr. B and his sister in highly charged scenes that could take place in any modern novel.) The book suffers towards the end. Pamela becomes even more sanctimonious (and less aggressive), and Mr. B becomes less witty. Mr. B is a villain you hate to love (or a hero you love to hate) until he turns "good" and then he just gets boring. Who was it said, "The snake has all the lines"? If you find, as I do, that Clarissa (Richardson's better known novel about a womanly woman's virtue) is a tad daunting, give Pamela a try.
Rating: 
Summary: tedious at best
Review: This book should be admired for its innovative use of the epistolary format, however it is an extremely tedious read. Its main goal is to convince the reader that the main character is rewarded in the end of the novel for her adherence to her virtue, but she's so boring and unlikable that you really don't care what happens to her. Richardson's novel is repetitive and unecisarily long, this novel could have been one hundred pages at the longest. For a more interesting read check out Fanny Burney's book Evelina, with its similar theme but much better execution.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Literature Piece
Review: This has become one of the best novels of literature I have read in along time. The impact which this story has on the reader, the beautiful language in which it is written, and the underlying symbolism that pops out in every page makes this story a captivating piece of literature that keeps the reader turning the pages and yearning to read as the story develops. Some individuals might find this work a bit dull and slow, bur that only depends on the kind of book that you're interested in. For my case, dullness did not describe any part of the book. I found it very touching and I find Pamela to be one of the best literary characters in English literature. It is the story of a young maid who is pursued by her young master. At all costs she defends her virtue refusing to give in to her master. As the story develops we see the intense feelings, emotions, and confusion that wraps the characters along with the reader. I truly reccommend this book to anybody.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Literature Piece
Review: This has become one of the best novels of literature I have read in along time. The impact which this story has on the reader, the beautiful language in which it is written, and the underlying symbolism that pops out in every page makes this story a captivating piece of literature that keeps the reader turning the pages and yearning to read as the story develops. Some individuals might find this work a bit dull and slow, bur that only depends on the kind of book that you're interested in. For my case, dullness did not describe any part of the book. I found it very touching and I find Pamela to be one of the best literary characters in English literature. It is the story of a young maid who is pursued by her young master. At all costs she defends her virtue refusing to give in to her master. As the story develops we see the intense feelings, emotions, and confusion that wraps the characters along with the reader. I truly reccommend this book to anybody.
Rating:
Summary: Where the Novel STARTED
Review: This is where it all started. Richardson gives this fast moving epistolary story a fun and predictable story of cat and mouse. The story is simple and short. Maiden is beautiful and is the center of attention by the rich aristocratic master. Retaining her virtue, she places her sentimentiality ahead of possible riches if she gives into the master's advances. Truely a common element of seduction in the Eighteenth century. In all respects, the reason to pick up this novel is Richardson's use of language and sentiments. This novel produces a great deal of reader participation. For one, the reader must decide which side he or she will side with. Siding with one or the other would produce a different outcome to the ending. This novel reads fast and is filled with great eighteenth-century vernacular language. Lots of insults and name calling are also included which are extremely funny. Calling this novel a "preview" to Richardson's masterpiece Clarissa is unjust. This is a masterpiece on its own and it will not disappoint with the first, second, or third reading.
Rating:
Summary: Pamela
Review: Ughhhhhhhhhh! I had to read this for a Literature class (Thanks Susan!), anyway, snooze-o-rama! I can appreciate the novel for introducing the conventions of "the novel," but does it have to be so boring? Pamela is sooooo virtuous it's irritating! I know you people will check the box that says NO this review was not helpful, but TRUST ME on this one! ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
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