Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded

Often cited as one of the first English-language novels—although this depends on your definition of the term—Samuel Richardson’s scandalous Pamela was a phenomenon on first publication in 1740. In it, a teenage housemaid resists the advances of the master of her household until, ultimately, he agrees to marry her. It is presented, initially, as a series of letters from Pamela to her parents; the second part of the book is written in the form of a journal, also addressed to her parents. The (at that time, groundbreaking) format allowed Richardson to offer insight into his protagonist’s state of mind and mode of thought.