Correspondence Primarily on Pamela and Clarissa (1732–1749)

Samuel Richardson was unquestionably a leading innovator in literary form prior to 1800. His correspondence, not least with the major literary figures of his day, is key to his career in literature and printing. This is the authoritative collection of his correspondence during his apogee as a novelist.

Samuel Richardson was one of the great letter-writers in English. His three great novels, Pamela, Clarissa, and Sir Charles Grandison were written in epistolary form, and Richardson himself was known in his time for the way he used his letters for both professional and personal purposes. As a printer, Richardson corresponded with authors, readers, and other printers and publishers. As a friend, he supported his correspondents when they were personally struggling. As a novelist, he engaged readers both before and after the publication of his works, soliciting their opinion and defending his own methods. Correspondence Primarily on Pamela and Clarissa (1732–1749) gives us Richardson the printer, the friend, and the novelist in the crucial early years of his unexpected success and fame as a literary writer, providing insight into how and why he created innovative works that changed the course of literary history.