Henry Fielding (1707-1754) was a man of the world. Though Fielding became a jurist in the last years of his short life he knew the corrupt, sexy and violent England of the reign of George II. In "Joseph Andrews" and his later, longer novel "Tom Jones" we join a hero on a romp through merry olde England! Joseph Andrews is the reputed brother of Pamela Andrews being employed as a footman in the home of Lady Booby the widow...
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This fast-paced comic novel was written as a parody of another 18th century classic, the immensely popular Pamela. Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, was a best selling novel by Fielding's comtemporary, Samuel Richardson. (Please see my other reviews for more about this). Although the language and social customs have changed in the 200 plus years since this book was written, there is enough universality to the comedy that modern...
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When readers come to JOSEPH ANDREWS--at least outside of a class on the 18th century novel, they usually have heard that this novel by Henry Fielding is funny, sort of an early Keruoac's On The Road. And while it is funny--a closer analogy might be to Hope and Crosby's On the Road films--its less obvious humor lies in its sharp satire, an understanding of which requires a bit of understanding how to place this book in its...
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So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.The...
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I loved this book. The adventures of Joseph Andrews are colourful and riotous. Highly recommended! Shamela, however, is a lesser work. It is a bawdy caricature of Samuel Richardson's "Pamela". Amusing, but slight.
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