Richardson, Samuel (1689-1761), English novelist. He was born in Derbyshire. While engaged in writing a volume of model letters (Familiar Letters, 1741), he also wrote and published the celebrated novel Pamela; or Virtue Rewarded (2 volumes, 1740), telling, in the form of letters, the story of a young maid-servant's defense of her honor. Clarissa; or the History of a Young Lady (7 volumes, 1747-1748), which explores the same events from the points of view of several of the characters, is considered his best work. All of Richardson's novels are in epistolary form (a series of letters), a structure that he refined and developed. For this reason, Richardson is considered a founder of the English modern novel.