The First English Novel

I recently reread my novella Mr. B Speaks! and, what do you know, I liked it! (This is a very useful reaction with one's own writing.)

So I have taken a "page" out of Eugene's blog and will be posting sections of Mr. B Speaks! (slightly revised) over the next few months accompanied by historical notes. These sections will appear under the MR. B SPEAKS! tab.

The story begins with Mr. B being pulled out of his novel into the "real" world to be tried for his supposed crimes as a rake. He is pulled out just after the birth of his third child. This birth is referenced in Pamela, Volume II by Samuel Richardson. Pamela, Vol. II; or Pamela's Conduct in High Life details Mr. B and Pamela's life together as a married couple while the first volume, Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded--upon which Mr. B Speaks! is based--details their courtship and first few weeks of marriage. The two books were published approximately a year apart.

Both books were wildly popular in the 18th century although the first book was more popular and lasted longer (basically, think Star Wars IV: A New Hope and Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back). Although Wikipedia claims Richardson wrote his classic (and currently, better-known) novel Clarissa because interest in Pamela was wavering, it would be more accurate to say Richardson wrote Clarissa because he figured out with Pamela what he was trying to do. Clarissa is more novel-like (and much, much longer) than Pamela.

However, Pamela bears the merit of being the first English romance novel and, for many people, the first full English novel, being told from a character's point of view, containing a clear plot structure (rising and falling action) and being its own reward--that is, the story is told for the sake of the story, not to support a travelogue or satire or sermon. Granted, Richardson skirts the line on the latter.