Attingham Park

The addition of the National Trust library catalogues to COPAC has enabled me to track down copies of Pamela in stately homes, dotted across the countryside. I have arranged to visit a few of these properties to catalogue their Pamelas, combining business with pleasure and a little bit of adventure.

On one of those golden, early autumn days when you can feel the chill in the air, but cannot imagine the impending winter gloom, I went up to Attingham Park, an eighteenth-century mansion tucked in Shropshire. The property was bustling with tourists, happily crunching through the autumn leaves, wandering through the orchards, and tromping through the house on entertaining tours. I was led straight to the Inner Library, an opulent crimson-walled and mahogany-furnitured affair, where I pulled a four-volume, calf and gilt bound Pamela off the shelf. It was a twelfth edition Pamela and there was nothing particularly remarkable about the contents, but the binding was in keeping with the ornate, gilt theme of the library. Richardson's other two works, Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison were also present and uniformly bound. These beautiful bindings indicate that Richardson's works were intended for display in the library and that they received the same treatment as works of a more serious nature. In the photo, you can see how the rows of books dazzle the visitor - a harmony of gilt and calf.

 In the eighteenth century books were often sold unbound, in blue paper, so that the buyer could bind them according to his or her tastes. There was growing trend for stately houses to have domestic libraries and books went from being stored in trunks to being displayed on shelves. But, if the books were bound before sale by the printers, who often doubled as booksellers, they were in a very plain brown calf binding.

 You can find Pamelas in both types of binding, which reflects the variety of readership. Pamela was originally intended as a conduct book for servant girls, but became an overnight bestseller, loved by the middling and upper-classes. The binding is often a strong indicator of provenance and also reveals how the owner viewed the book as a physical object. Some treated the novel as a cheap, ephemeral object, others as a guilty pleasure, and some as a beautiful object to enhance a library collection.

While I sat in the Inner Library, collating and cataloguing, the tour groups that passed through took in the rich oil paintings, stately furniture, and shimmering book bindings; they were impressed with a sense of graceful elegance and gentle wealth. I placed Pamela back on the dusty top shelf and locked the grated bookcase. In my study of the treatment of books as physical objects, Attingham Park's Pamela fell into the category of books as furniture. I joined the tour group as they moved into the next room, and cast one last glance into the library. In the soft and dusky light that trickled in through the windows, the library was a satisfactory symphony of red and gold, gilt and gloss.

So why create a blog?

I always found the idea of blogging intimidating (and the word 'blogging' horribly unattractive), but the trend is here to stay and the word most certainly has earned a place in the OED. It is only recently that I realized this medium's potential to effectively disseminate information and thus alleviate one of the frustrations of an academic - that years of research remain confined to an obscure scholarly journal or trapped in the dusty stacks of theses. While conferences and lecturers gather people together for the purpose of debating and discussing, the guests are usually already interested in the topic. I have spent years researching Samuel Richardson's Pamela, theories of book history, types of book bindings, specific illustrators, and reading spaces because I find it fascinating, but the initial spark for the focus on Pamela came from the University of Michigan's attractive website with a collection of illustrations. I have created this blog with a similar hope in mind - that those who stumble across my blog will find their curiosity piqued.

In the next few weeks, I will be posting information about my latest research trips, some of my essays, creating an online bibliography of Pamela and Pamela-related publications, compiling an essential reading list, and adding plenty of links. Enjoy!

More about Karen

I am currently completing my PhD in English literature at University of London, Royal Holloway. My thesis, 'The Transformation of the Text: the Book History of Samuel Richardson's Pamela' (1740), explores illustrations, book bindings, reading spaces, and publishing practices. 


This focus on the physical and visual qualities of the book and book illustration stems from a lifelong passion for art and literature. I spent the majority of my blissful childhood reading, painting, and colouring and I dreamt of being a writer.  As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia (2007) studying both English Literature and Art History, I became interested in book illustration; it allowed for a simultaneous indulgence in the verbal and the visual. 


It was not until I began my first Master's degree at the University of Durham, UK (2008) in Victorian and Romantic Studies that I realized how fully an interdisciplinary approach enriched my academic pursuits. After the completion of my dissertation entitled 'Pathos and Poverty: Henry Mayhew and William Powell Frith's London Poor,' which compared verbal and visual expressions of mid-Victorian poverty, I wanted to further develop my art history and art handling skills. I moved to London for a Master's course in Fine and Decorative Arts (2009). 


The course at Christie's had a considerably more vocational approach and I believe this has complemented my traditional academic background. While researching possible dissertation topics, I stumbled across the University of Michigan website for illustrations of Pamela (see link) and immediately knew that there was a rich body of material for further exploration. We were instructed to approach our dissertations from the viewpoint of a curator and I considered the complications of creating an exhibition based mainly on book illustrations. The more I researched Pamela, the more I realized that there were so many unexplored paths in Richardson studies. And so, in September 2009, risking the stigma of being an eternal student, I began my PhD at the University of London, Royal Holloway with the intention of creating an exciting book history of the novel. 


The past three years of research are now being translated into the final draft of a thesis. The arguments have changed, my view point has shifted, I have gone down dead-ends, up to Cheshire and Derbyshire in search of untouched Pamelas, and spent countless hours collating, but as my time as a student draws to a close, I can confidently say my findings contribute new research to Pamela studies and to book history as a discipline. 


Looking back on my academic career, it appears to be a smooth progression from childhood loves to professional passion. It seems inevitable that a young girl with a penchant for Henry James, Trollope, Dickens, and Thackery, and who loved Reynolds and Gainsborough would eventually call London her home; but, during all these years as a student, it always seemed to be small twists of fate that guided me.    


As I prepare to call London my home for the next few years and begin pursuing the possibility of a career in the art auction world, I eagerly await fate's next exciting twist.