''An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews'', or simply ''Shamela'', as it is more commonly known, is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) fact ...

by English writer

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...

. It was first published in April 1741 under the name of ''Mr. Conny Keyber''. Fielding never admitted to writing the work, but it is widely considered to be his.. It is a direct attack on the then-popular novel '' Pamela'' (1740) by Fielding's contemporary and rival

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...

and is composed, like ''Pamela'', in

epistolary Epistolary means "in the form of a letter or letters", and may refer to: * Epistolary ( la, epistolarium), a Christian liturgical book containing set readings for church services from the New Testament Epistles * Epistolary novel * Epistolary po ...

form.

Publishing history

''Shamela'' was originally published anonymously on 4 April 1741 and sold for one shilling and sixpence. A second edition came out on 3 November that same year which was partly reimpressed and partly reset where emendations were made. A pirated edition was printed in Dublin in 1741 as well. Reprint editions have subsequently appeared as texts for academic study.

Plot summary

''Shamela'' is written as a shocking revelation of the true events which took place in the life of Pamela Andrews, the main heroine of ''Pamela''. ''Shamela'' starts with a letter from a Parson Thomas Tickletext to his friend, Parson J. Oliver, in which Tickletext is completely smitten by '' Pamela'', and insists Oliver gives the book a read. In response, however, Oliver reveals her true nature is not so virtuous, and he has letters to prove her real character. The rest of the story is told in letters between the major characters, such as Shamela, her mother, Henrietta Maria Honora Andrews—who is unwed in this version—Master Booby, Mrs. Jeweks, Mrs. Jervis, and Rev. Arthur Williams, much like in '' Pamela''. In this version, however, her father is not present at all. In ''Shamela'' we also learn that, instead of being a kind, humble and chaste servant-girl, Pamela (whose true name turns out to be Shamela) is in fact a wicked and lascivious creature—daughter to a London prostitute—who schemes to entrap her master, Squire Booby, into marriage. Later, however, it was discovered Shamela was having an affair with the Reverend. The verbal and physical violence of Richardson's "Mr. B" (whose name is revealed to Booby) to his servant maid are hyperbolized, rendering their supposed love-match contemptible and absurd.

Themes and style

The novel is a sustained

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of, and direct response to, the stylistic failings and moral hypocrisy that Fielding saw in Richardson's ''Pamela''. Reading ''Shamela'' amounts to re-reading ''Pamela'' through a deforming

magnifying glass A magnifying glass is a convex lens that is used to produce a magnified image of an object. The lens is usually mounted in a frame with a handle. A magnifying glass can be used to focus light, such as to concentrate the sun's radiation to c ...

; Richardson's text is rewritten in a way that reveals its hidden implications, to subvert and desecrate it.Vasarri (2006
p.7
quotation: Richardson's epistolary tale of a resolute servant girl, armed only with her 'virtue' to battle against her master's attempts at seduction, had become an overnight literary sensation in 1741. The implicit moral message – that a girl's chastity has eventual value as a commodity – as well as the awkwardness of the epistolary form in dealing with ongoing events, and the triviality of the detail which the form necessitates, were some of the main targets of Fielding's travesty. Recent criticism has explored the ways in which ''Pamela'' in fact dramatises its own weaknesses. From this perspective, Fielding's work may be seen as a development of possibilities already encoded in Richardson's work, rather than a simple attack. Another novel by Fielding parodying ''Pamela'', albeit not so explicitly, is ''The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his Friend, Mr. Abraham Adams'' (February 1742), more commonly known as ''

Joseph Andrews ''The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams'', was the first full-length novel by the English author Henry Fielding to be published and among the early novels in the English language. Appearing in 1742 ...

''. Also, as the title and

paratext In literary interpretation, paratext is material that surrounds a published main text (e.g., the story, non-fiction description, poems, etc.) supplied by the authors, editors, printers, and publishers. These added elements form a frame for the ma ...

s make clear, ''Shamela'' is also a spoof against Colley Cibber's ''Apology'' (''An Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber, Comedian''), published the same year, as well as a dig at

Conyers Middleton Conyers Middleton (27 December 1683 – 28 July 1750) was an English clergyman. Mired in controversy and disputes, he was also considered one of the best stylists in English of his time. Early life Middleton was born at Richmond, North Yorkshir ...

, whose ''Life of Cicero'', written at the request of

John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, (13 October 16965 August 1743) was an English courtier and political writer. Heir to the Earl of Bristol, he obtained the key patronage of Walpole, and was involved in many court intrigues and literary quarrel ...

, was perceived by opposition authors as a panegyric of sorts for the controversial administration of

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...

. Some critics have pointed out that the popularity of Richardson's ''Pamela'' and Cibber's ''Apology'' alerted Fielding to the possibilities of prose fiction for influencing the taste and morals of his contemporaries. ''Shamela'', then, went far beyond satirizing Richardson and his supporters, for it allowed Fielding to rework, now in novelistic format, the topics that fascinated him as a satirical playwright, before the Licensing Act drove him away from drama.Castro-Santana, Anaclara. ''Errors and Reconciliations: Marriage in the Plays and Novels of Henry Fielding'' (NY: Routledge, 2018), chapter 3, pp. 107-27

Footnotes

References

*Davidson, Jenny (2004
''Hypocrisy and the politics of politeness''
*Vasarri, Fabio (2006
''Premessa''
("Preface") to Sangsue, Daniel (2006) ''La parodia''

External links

* Full text o
''An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews''
at Google Books Full text of ''Shamela'' from

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