Joseph Andrews With Shamela and Related Writings

ThisNortonCriticalEditionreprintstheauthoritativeWesleyantextofJosephAndrews,editedbyMartinBattestin.AnaccuratetextofShamela(Fielding’ssatireofSamuelRichardson’sPamela,themostpopularepistolarynoveloftheeighteenthcentury)aswellasAnEssayontheKnowledgeoftheCharactersofMen,selectionsfromTheChampion,andthePrefacetoTheAdventuresofDavidSimplearealsoincluded.Allofthetextsarefullyannotated."Backgrounds"containsgenerousextractsfromworksthatFieldingsatirized—PamelaandConyerMiddleton’sDedicationtotheLifeofCicero—andemulated—GilBlasandselectionsfromDonQuixote,theRomanComique,andLePaysanParvenu.ThesectionconcludeswithageneralexplanationofthepoliticalandreligiouscontextsinwhichJosephAndrewswaswritten."Criticism"offersabroadrangeofresponsestothenovel.ContemporaryassessmentsincludeselectedlettersofThomasGray,WilliamShenstone,SamuelRichardson,andothersaswellascommentaryfromTheStudent,orOxfordandCambridgeMonthlyMiscellany,byWilliamHazlitt,JamesBeattie,andSarahFieldingandJaneCollier.ModernassessmentsarebyMarkSpilka,DickTaylor,Jr.,MartinBattestin,SheldonSacks,MorrisGolden,BrianMcCrea,andHomerGoldberg.ASelectedBibliographyisalsoincluded.