Virtue Rewarded

Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, first published in 1740. It tells the story of a beautiful 15-year-old maidservant named Pamela Andrews, whose country landowner master, Mr. B, makes unwanted advances towards her after the death of his mother. After attempting unsuccessfully to seduce and rape her, her virtue is eventually rewarded when he sincerely proposes an equitable marriage to her. In the novel's second part, Pamela marries Mr. B and tries to acclimatise to upper-class society. The story, a best-seller of its time, was very widely read but was also criticized for its perceived licentiousness.