'Joseph Andrews' and 'Shamela'(Oxford World's Classics) - Softcover

Fielding, Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019283343X ISBN 13: 9780192833433

Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks, 1999

Synopsis

'I beg as soon as you get Fielding's Joseph Andrews, I fear in Ridicule of your Pamela and of Virtue in the Notion of Don Quixote's Manner, you would send it to me by the very first Coach.' (George Cheyne in a letter to Samuel Richardson, February 1742) 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. But in Shamela Fielding also demonstrates his concern for the corruption of contemporary society, politics, religion, morality, and taste. The same themes - together with a presentation of love as charity, as friendship, and in its sexual taste - are present in Joseph Andrews, Fielding's first novel. It is a work of considerable literary sophistication and satirical verve, but its appeal lies also in its spirit of comic affirmation, epitomized in the celebrated character of Parson Adams. 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.

About this title

Review:

"Hawley's introduction is a model of what such a thing should be (for an undergraduate audience): full of information, but not too pushy. She manages to touch on a truly remarkable number of important bases in just a few pages--an impressive accomplishment. The notes are good, too. This is the best edition out there for college students." -- Douglas Patey, Sophia Smith Professor of English, Smith College

About the Author:

Thomas Keynor is Elmore Fellow and Tutor in English Language and Literature, St. Anne's College, Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 019283343X
• ISBN 13: 9780192833433
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464
• Editor: Keymer Thomas