Joseph Andrews / Shamela - Henry Fielding

Category: Adults, General Fiction
Language: English
Keywords: 18th Century British Literature

Written by Henry Fielding
Read by John Telfer, Clare Corbett, Tom Burke, Neville Jason, Joe Marsh, David Shaw-Parker, Georgina Sutton
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

Joseph Andrews
By: Henry Fielding
Narrated by: John Telfer
Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
Release date: 02-27-15

In one of the first novels in the English language, we follow the picaresque adventures of Joseph Andrews, a virtuous young man who is keen to maintain his innocence despite being coerced by nearly every woman he encounters.

The episodic journey sees him travel home to London with his tutor, Parson Adams, as he heads to find his sweetheart, Fanny. Much mayhem ensues along the way as they become embroiled in a series of escapades and slapstick brawls.

Fielding is an expert satirist, and through the many twists and turns of narration he combines high and low literature and high and low humor to create a wittily funny novel that he aptly named a “comic epic poem in prose”.

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Shamela
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews
By: Henry Fielding
Narrated by: Clare Corbett, Tom Burke, Neville Jason, Joe Marsh, David Shaw-Parker, Georgina Sutton
Length: 1 hr and 30 mins
Release date: 09-03-13

Shamela is a bawdy, spirited, and hilarious response to Samuel Richardson’s hugely popular 1740 novel, Pamela. In this pointed satire, Shamela (which transpires to be the real name of Richardson’s Pamela) reveals the ulterior motives behind the events that took place in Pamela.

Shamela is unlike the virtuous young lady portrayed in Richardson’s novel and she takes command of her master, Squire Booby. Our heroine has planned it all out from the start and she is determined to entrap her master into marriage.

Fielding, most famous as the author of Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews, equated morality with expediency, and he takes advantage of the comic form to provide a multi-layered satire of contemporary politics and values. He lampoons political figures, the clergy, and contemporary writers with criticisms that, most importantly, contribute to a comic tour-de-force unlike any other.