Cover of The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews

First published 1742 · Public Domain348 pagesAndrew Millar
FictionHistoryEnlightenmentAdventureClassics

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About This Book

The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of his Friend Mr Abraham Adams is Henry Fielding's first full-length novel, published in February 1742. Originally conceived as a parody of Samuel Richardson's moralizing novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, the work quickly transcended its satirical origins to become a masterpiece of comic fiction in its own right. The novel follows the journey of Joseph Andrews, a virtuous young footman dismissed from service for refusing the sexual advances of his employer Lady Booby, as he travels home to reunite with his sweetheart Fanny Goodwill. Accompanying him is the gloriously absent-minded Parson Abraham Adams — one of the great comic creations in English literature — a learned, good-hearted clergyman who is perpetually surprised by the wickedness of the world. Their picaresque road trip through the English countryside becomes a vehicle for Fielding's sharp social satire, exposing the hypocrisy, vanity, and affectation of every class of society they encounter. Fielding described the work as a 'comic epic-poem in prose,' establishing a new literary form that would influence the development of the English novel for centuries. The novel's prefatory essay, in which Fielding lays out his theory of the 'ridiculous' as arising from vanity and hypocrisy, remains one of the most important statements of comic aesthetics in English literary criticism.

Excerpt

It is a trite but true observation, that examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts: and if this be just in what is odious and blameable, it is more strongly so in what is amiable and praiseworthy. Here emulation most effectually operates upon us, and inspires our imitation in an irresistible manner.— Opening of The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews

About the Author

Henry Fielding
1707 – 1754

Henry Fielding (1707–1754) was an English novelist and playwright whose sharp wit and sprawling narratives helped define the modern novel. Born into a well-connected Somerset family, he studied at Eton and the University of Leiden before launching a career in London theatre. His satirical plays drew the ire of the government, prompting the Licensing Act of 1737 that effectively ended his stage career. Fielding then turned to prose fiction, producing the mock-heroic Joseph Andrews (1742) and the panoramic masterpiece Tom Jones (1749). He also practised law, serving as a magistrate for Westminster and Middlesex, where he co-founded the Bow Street Runners, an early form of professional policing. Plagued by gout and declining health, Fielding sailed to Lisbon seeking warmer air but died there at forty-seven, leaving behind works that combined comedy, social criticism, and a generous vision of human nature.

Publication Details

First Published1742
PublisherAndrew Millar
Pages348
ISBN9780199536986
LanguageEn
CopyrightPublic Domain
Open LibraryView editions