The Enlightenment in England – Modern Humanities Practice Test

Epistolary fiction relies on letters to tell a story, and Samuel Richardson popularized this approach in the 18th century with Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded. Published in 1740, Pamela presents its narrative through the heroine’s own letters to family, friends, and guardians, creating an intimate, immediate voice that drew readers in and showcased how character and plot could unfold through correspondence. The book’s extraordinary popularity sparked a flood of imitators and established the epistolary form as a mainstream vehicle for English novels for years to come. While Mary Astell contributed important feminist prose earlier in the century, and Laurence Sterne and Samuel Johnson made other major literary innovations, none matched Richardson in bringing the epistolary form to widespread prominence through Pamela.