Richardson, Samuel (1689-1761)

English novelist. He was one of the founders of the modern novel. Pamela (1740-41), written in the form of a series of letters and containing much dramatic conversation, was sensationally popular all across Europe, and was followed by Clarissa (1747-48) and Sir Charles Grandison (1753-54).

Born in Derbyshire, Richardson was brought up in London and apprenticed to a printer. He set up his own business in London in 1719, becoming printer to the House of Commons. After his wife died in 1731, he married again; of six children by each wife, only four daughters survived him.

An examination of Richardson's skeleton in 1994 showed that he suffered from the painful bone disorder diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, in which bony outgrowths form around the joints.