Biography of Samuel Richardson

Samuel Richardson Profile

Full Name: Samuel Richardson

Birth Date: August 19, 1689

Baptized: August 19, 1689

Birth Place: Mackworth, United Kingdom

Died Date: July 4, 1761

Died Place: Parsons Green, London, United Kingdom

Died Age: 71 Years

Place of Burial: St. Bride's Church, London, United Kingdom

Occupation: Writer, printer and publisher

Parents: Samuel and Elizabeth Richardson

Spouse: Martha Wilde (m. 1721) & Elizabeth Leake

Number of Children: 6

Daughters: 

1. Mary

2. Martha

3. Anne

4. Sarah

Son: Their son, another Samuel, was born in 1739 and died in 1740.

Samuel Richardson Works

1. Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740–1761)
2. Pamela in her Exalted Condition (1741–1761)
3. Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady (1747–61)
4. The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753–1761)
5. The History of Mrs. Beaumont
6. A Reply to the Criticism of Clarissa (1749)
7. Meditations on Clarissa (1751)
8. The Case of Samuel Richardson (1753)
9. An Address to the Public (1754)
10. 10 Letters Concerning Sir Charles Grandison (1754)
11. A Collection of Moral Sentiments (1755)
12. Conjectures on Original Composition in a Letter to the Author (1759)
13. Aesop's Fables (1739–1753)
14. The Negotiations of Thomas Roe (1740)
15. A Tour through Great Britain
16. The Life of Sir William Harrington
17. The Apprentice's Vade Mecum (1734)
18.  6 Letters upon Duelling (1765)
19. Letter from an Uncle to his Nephew (1804)

Samuel Richardson Early Life

Samuel Richardson was born in Derbyshire, the son of joiner, by whom he was apprenticed to a London printer. Samuel Richardse was an industrious youth, and in the course of time rose high in th pursuit of his occupation. He became a master-printer, produced the journals of the House of Commons, and became printer to the King. He was a man of retiring and almost effeminate habits, but wos generous and well-liked.

Samuel Richardson Literary Career

Samuel Richardson's first attempts at writing fiction began at the age of thirteen when he was the confidant of three illiterate young women, for whom he wrote love-letters. This practice afterward stood him in good stead. He was over fifty years old before he printed a novel of his own, called Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740). The book, which takes the form of a series of fictitious letters deals with the fortunes of Pamela, a poor and virtuous maid of low degree who marries and afterwards reforms her Wicked master. The work was instantly successful, exhausting four editions during the first six months of its issue. The characters, especially the chief female character, slowly but accurately fabricated during the gradual evolution of the simple plot, were new to the readers of the time, and mark a great step forward in the history of the English novel.

Richardson's next novel, which was also constructed in the form of letters, was Clarissa Harlowe. This treats of the perfidy of men, as illustrated in the tragedy of the heroine, who is persecuted by the villainous Lovelace. Considered by many Richardson's masterpiece, Clarissa Harlowe shows his characterization at its best. Not only Clarissa herself, but many of the minor characters are well drawn, with Richardson's usual attention to minute psychological analysis. The story has a strong, if obvious, emotional appeal, and is remarkable for the way in which it achieves a sense of the inevitability of its tragic close. His third and last novel, also in letter- form, was Sir Charles Grandison, dealing chiefly with persons still higher in the social world.  Samuel Richardson contemplated calling the book A Good Man, for he intended the hero to be the perfection of the manly virtues. But Sir Charles is too good, and succeeds only in being tedious and unreal. The character of the social milieu in which the action is cast also weighs heavily upon Richardson, with the result that this book, which he intended to be his masterpiece, is the hollowest of the three.

Characteristics of Samuel Richardson Novels

Richardson's works are largely the reflection of the man himself, and, in spite of their faults and limitations, are of immense importance in the development of the novel.

👉Their most striking feature is Richardson's moral purpose. A professed teacher, he is the embodiment of the religious earnestness of the rising Puritan middle class. The virtue he advocates is typically utilitarian rather than fanatical, and its reward is material prosperity. Thus Pamela marries her wicked master and prospers in the world as a direct reward for her virtue.

👉The books are extremely long, partly because the adoption of the epistolary method necessitated numerous repetitions or slightly differing versions of the same incident. The plots have little com- plexity and are slow in development, and the novels tend to be shapeless, though his last work, Sir Charles Grandison, shows signs of more complexity and skill in this direction.

👉Equally responsible for the length of Richardson's novels is his use of minute detail, both of character and incident. He is an adept in the intimate analysis of motive and emotion which gradually evolves a character that is entire and convincing, and he fills in his sketch with a multitude of tiny strokes. For such detailed analysis a lengthy book is essential so that length is a vital part of Richardson's technique. 

👉Richardson's greatest ability lies in characterization. His psychological insight into human motives and feelings, and particularly. his understanding of the feminine heart, has seldom been surpassed since his day. Clarissa is his finest portrait, but each successive novel shows a greater range and variety of character. Part of Richardson's importance in the history of the novel lies in his introduction of characters of the lower-middle classes, whom he portrays with great accuracy.

👉The appeal of Richardson's novels is a frankly sentimental one to the heart, and on occasions, as in the protracted account of the approaching death of Clarissa, he is guilty of dwelling too long on the mental sufferings of his characters. 

👉His style lacks distinction. Adequate for his purpose, it is at times over-deliberate, or even elaborately precious, as in much of Sir Charles Grandison, and he never rises to the subtlety of differing styles for different writers in his series of letters.

Important Questions About Samuel Richardson

1. What is the main theme of the novel Pamela?

Answer: Virtue, Gender and sexuality, Politeness, sensibility and sentimentalism

2. How long is Clarissa by Samuel Richardson?

Answer: 970,000 words (approx)

3. What type of novel Pamela is?

Answer:

i. Epistolary novel

ii. Romance novel

iii. Psychological Fiction

iv. Georgian romance

4. How old is Clarissa Harlowe?

Answer: 18 years old

5. What does the word Clarissa mean?

Answer: clear, brilliant, famous

6. Who wrote Clarissa?

Answer: Samuel Richardson

7. In what form is Richardson's Pamela written?

Answer: Epistolary style

8. Is Pamela first novel in English literature?

Answer: Yes, Pamela is the first novel in English literature. It first published in 1740.