Pamela, ou la vertu recompensée

New edition, illustrated with 32 figures by Punt and a title vignette repeated on all 4 volumes. Title pages in red and black. This appears to be the first edition to be fully illustrated, as previous editions presented only four frontispieces, however it should be noted that the figures bear the date 1742. The mention of third edition refers only to Dutch editions and is therefore not significant. Translation by Abbé Prévost and Aubert de la Chesnaye des Bois.
Contemporary full brown sheep binding. Decorated spine with raised bands. Red morocco title and volume labels. Head of volume I split at head. A lack at head of volume II. A lack to the upper joint at foot of volume I. Tailpiece partly missing on volume III. Corners slightly bumped. Rubbing. Scattered foxing.
Pamela was a veritable sensation in the literary world and achieved resounding success throughout Europe. Its principal merit is undoubtedly having given birth not only to the epistolary novel (Rousseau) but to Fielding who produced two satirical sequels: The Adventures of Joseph Andrews and Tom Jones. We know that Diderot was unstinting in his praise of this novel. Pamela is a novel of manners and a sentimental novel whose impact on 18th-century literature is indelible and enduring. It is often considered the first bourgeois novel of manners, and this shift of the action's setting from aristocracy to bourgeoisie had an enormous impact.