RICHARDSON, SAMUEL, a celebrated novel writer, was born in the county of Derby, in the year 1689. His father, who was a joiner, intended his son for the church; but he was unable to give him any more than an ordinary education at the grammar school. Young Richardson seems to have had all early turn for letter writing; and at an early period of life, was fond of female society. At the age of thirteen, he is said to have been employed by three young women to write their love letters ; and to have managed these little trans actions with so much discretion, that none of them suspected him.
In the year 1706, he was apprenticed to Mr. John Wilde, a printer, whom he served with assiduity for seven years, devoting the time which others employed in rest and recreation, to the improvement of his mind. When his apprenticeship was finished, he wrought as a journeyman printer for six years ; and in 1719, lie began business on his own account in a court in Fleet Street. His unemployed time was now occupied in drawing up indices for authors and booksellers, and in writing prefaces and dedications, for which lie seems to have then possessed a peculiar talent. In the year 1723, when the Duke of Wharton had stirred up an opposition in the city, Mr. Richardson, though of op posite principles, was intimately connected with him, and even printed his " True Briton." When he saw, however, the real object of the paper, he refused to print it after No. 6 ; consequence of his name not appearing at the paper, he escaped the effects of a decision against some of the numbers which he had printed. He was afterwards occupied in printing the daily Journal, and subsequently the daily Gazetteer. His excellent character, and the friendship of Mr. Speaker Onslow, procured him the lucrative employ ment of printing the Journals of the House of Commons, of %%hich he executed 26 volumes in folio.
Having been applied to by two booksellers, Mr. Rivington and Mr. Osborne, to write for them a volume of letters, he composed for them his " Fami liar Letters to and from several persons upon business and other subjects". In drawing up that little work, which appeared in 1741, he conceived the idea of con veying instructions in writing and acting on occasions of importance, and of composing letters, with the view of teaching young women, when leaving service, how to avoid the snares laid for their chastity. These let ters he combined with a true story, and lie is said to have thus composed in less than three months, his " Pamela," a novel, in 2 vols. which appeared in 1740, and which was received with extraordinary applause. In one year it went through five editions, and was even recommended from the pulpit. Notwithstanding this great popularity, however, it was loudly blamed by many, for the direct indelicacy of many of its scenes, and even for its general immoral tendency ; and Dr. Watts, to whom Richardson had presented the work, did not scruple to inform him that " he understood the ladies complain they cannot read the work without blushing." The great success of that novel produced a spurious continuation of it, called " Pamela in High Life," which induced Richardson to give a continuation of his own work in two volumes, but it was in no respect equal to the first, being more a defence of his first work than a con tinuation of it.
Encouraged by his great and unexpected success, he brought out in 1748 the two first volumes of his Cla rissa Harlow. This work stamped our author's fame as a novel writer, and excited an interest, during its progressive appearance, which is not often taken in a tale of fictitious sorrow. Rousseau avers, that nothing was ever written either equal or approaching to it in any language. It was translated into French by the Abbe Prevost, and also by Lc Tourneur ; into Dutch by Mr. Stinstre ; and into German, under the eye of the illus trious Haller.
Mr. Richardson was now desirous of giving his readers an example of a perfect man, uniting the cha racter of the fine gentleman with that of a Christian. Hence he was led to compose his " Sir Charles Gran dison," which appeared in 1753, and which was the best work which he wrote. In this work, the charac ter of Clementina has been generally admired. Dr. Warton observes, that he " knew not whether ever the madness of Lear is wrought up and expressed by so many little strokes of nature and passion. It is absolute pedantry," he continues, " to prefer and compare the madness of Orestes in Euripides, with that of Clemen tina." Notwithstanding this high praise, however, it is admitted by Mrs Barbauld that even this character is over-wrought, and that our author never knew when to stop, and had a tendency to tediousness and prolixity in all his narratives.
The success of these works, and the profits of his business, added wealth to our author's fame. In 1760, he purchased half of the patent of Law Printer to his Majesty, and carried on that part of the business in conjunction with Miss Lintot, afterwards the wife of Henry Fletcher, Esq. M. P. for Westmoreland.
Richardson was twice married, and had several chil dren, but only four daughters grew up to comfort him in his old age. His nerves, which were naturally weak, were still farther debilitated by the loss of six children, which at last brought on a paralytic disorder. This disease terminated in an apoplexy, which carried him off on the 4th of July, 1761, in the 72d year of his age.
The character of Richardson seems to have been nearly as perfect as any that he ever drew from his imagination. He was plain and simple in his manner, and so modest, that he never attempted to shine in so ciety. He was pious, virtuous, and benevolent, and delighted in every opportunity of doing good to his fel low creatures. In business he was regular and indus trious, and left his family in easy circumstances.
Besides several minor productions, which are not worthy of being even mentioned, Richardson wrote No. •97, vol. ii. of the Rambler, which led Dr. Johnson to say in the preamble to it, to style him " an author, from whom the age has received greater favours, who has enlarged the knowledge of human nature, and taught the passions to move at the command of virtue." The correspondence of Samuel Richardson was pub lished in 1804, in six octavo volumes, enriched with an excellent life of the author, and a criticism on his works, by Mrs. Barbauld. The letters seem to have been most improperly published, and are said to sully the reputa tion of Richardson as a writer. For a fuller account of our author, see Chalmers' General Biographical Dic tionary, vol. xxvi. p. 19.