Henry Fielding

First English realistic novel depicts misadventures of Joseph and his old tutor, Parson Adams, and their travels — along the way exposing, through their own innocence and honesty, the hypocrisy and affectation of others.

Joseph Andrews

Clare B

In "Joseph Andrews," footboy Joseph loses his place when he rejects Lady Booby's advances, commencing a comic odyssey of robbery, poverty, and sexual viciousness; and in "Shamela," the author extends the parody of Samuel Richardson's "Pamela" begun in "Joseph Andrews."

Joseph Andrews & Shamela

Stephanie Honour

Fiebi

Henry Fielding's riotous tale of innocents in a corrupt world was one of the earliest English novels, blending bawdy slapstick, philosophical musing and pointed social satire to create a work of moral complexity and generous, life-affirming humanity. Published in 1742, it tells the story of the chaste servant Joseph Andrews who, after being sacked for spurning the advances of the lascivious Lady Booby, takes to the road, accompanied by his beloved Fanny Goodwill and the absent-minded, much put-upon Parson Adams. There they encounter robbers, tricksters, seducers, mishaps and strange twists of fortune, in a series of adventures filled with exuberant comedy.

Lily

tilly ✨

Both Joseph Andrews (1742) and Shamela (1741) were prompted by the success of Richardson's Pamela (1740), of which Shamela is a splendidly bawdy parody. In both works Fielding demonstrates his concern for the corruption of contemporary society, politics, religion, morality, and taste. This revised and expanded edition follows the text of Joseph Andrews established by Martin C. Battestin for the definitive Wesleyan Edition of Fielding's works. The text of Shamela is based on the first edition, and two substantial appendices reprint the preliminary matter from Conyers Middleton's Life of Cicero and the second edition of Richardson's Pamela (both closely parodied in Shamela). A new introduction by Thomas Keymer situates Fielding's works in their critical and historical contexts.

Joseph Andrews

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