Joseph Andrews

By rights this book should be called 'Parson Adams' as he provides much of what makes this book so special. Less a novel, more a series of brilliant snapshots of Georgian England from the highest to its lowest.

Was there ever such an author as good-natured as Henry Fielding or one you would most like to have known?

Second only to Voltaire's Candide: Or Optimism (Penguin Classics), Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews is the funniest, most intelligent, satirical commentary I've ever read. Actually, let's get rid of the qualifiers, Joseph Andrews is one of the two funniest books I've ever read. (I first read it in college and it introduced me to the idea that important old books could also be highly entertaining, interesting, and illuminating.)

The book was first published in 1742 under the title "The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams" to some controversy. Fielding did not hesitate to poke merciless fun at just about everything 'respectable': religion, the law, lords and ladies, and sexual mores. Fielding show more attacked the moral hypocrisy of Joseph Richardson's popular Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded (Oxford World's Classics). (Fielding also wrote a short work, Shamela, that was a direct response to Pamela. Shamela is often sold together with Joseph Andrews See e.g., Joseph Andrews and Shamela (Penguin Classics).) Pamela created a huge literary controversy; Shamela and Joseph Andrews were just two of many mocking responses, although few others survive (see, e.g. Anti-Pamela and Shamela).

Joseph (who is Pamela's brother!) is a genial but naïve rustic and a footman in the service of Lady Booby (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). When Joseph rejects her very direct and bawdy advances, Lady Booby sends him packing. Joseph then begins walking home from London to the country to seek out (and marry) Fanny Goodwill, his lifelong sweetheart. Along the way he meets his hometown friend the amiable and forgetful Parson Abraham Adams. Parson Adams is on his way to London to sell his sermons for publication. When Adams discovers he has forgotten to pack said sermons, he and Joseph decide to travel home together. The trip is the departure point for many adventures and mishaps that expose the society's hypocrisy and inequities. Along the way, the reader meets many colorful characters whose pretensions often land them in dire circumstances - furnishing much hilarity to us.

Fielding purported to aim at nothing less the invention of a new literary form, the "comic epic-poem in prose". He says in his Preface, "it may not be improper to premise a few words concerning this kind of writing, which I do not remember to have seen hitherto attempted in our language." Fielding, however, was also known to write 'serio-comic', ironic introductions to his works, so some caution is in order. Nonetheless, the Preface accurately describes his "comic epic-poem in prose" as "differing from comedy, as the serious epic from tragedy: its action being more extended and comprehensive; containing a much larger circle of incidents, and introducing a greater variety of characters. It differs from the serious romance in its fable and action, in this: that as in the one these are grave and solemn, so in the other they are light and ridiculous; it differs in its characters, by introducing persons of inferiour rank, and consequently of inferiour manners, whereas the grave romance sets the highest before us; lastly in its sentiments and diction; by preserving the ludicrous instead of the sublime."

Absolutely the highest possible recommendation. show less

Joseph Andrews starts off as a parable of the Good Samaritan with chastity and charity the central themes. Main character Joseph Andrews is a footman for Lady Booby. When her husband dies suddenly, Joseph is forced to ward off her amorous advances. In an effort to get away from Mrs. Booby Joseph travels to see his true love, Fanny. Along the way he is robbed and beaten but no one wants to help him. Sound familiar? It seems as if Fielding is fixated on responding to Samuel Richardson's Pamela. There are other ties to Pamela. Fielding makes Pamela the brother of Joseph.
Along Joseph's journey is accompanied by tutor and pastor Mr. Adams. A large chunk of History of the Adventures is Parson Adams's adventures.
As an aside, what is up with show more all the goofy names? Mrs. Slipslop, Mrs. Booby, Tow-Wouse, Peter Pounce, Gaffar and Gammar Andrews, to name a few. show less

Richardson seems to me to be a prig; Defoe completely insufferable; Swift and Pope perhaps too smarmy even for me. And I like smarm. According to the introduction Fielding's meant to be more conservative than Richardson (these novels both take their main characters from Richardson's 'Pamela'), but as far as I can tell, this is an almost meaningless statement. Unlike Richardson and his characters, Fielding and his are warm and kind; Fielding attacks the stupidities of human kind that need attacking, and he's smarter than everyone. As for the story, it must be better if you've read 'Pamela,' but since that's almost impossible to do, I recommend just skipping to 'Joseph Andrews' and getting to know a couple of wonderful people.

Reason read: This was my January 2026 tbr takedown book. Joseph Andrews was written by Henry Fielding and published in 1742. It is a parody of Samuel Richardson's sentimental novel, Pamela. This is a picaresque novel and the original title was The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and his friend Mr. Abraham Adams. Right away the novel made me think of Joseph of Bible fame who was working in the household of a prominent Egyptian and the man's wife lay hold of Joseph causing him, a virtuous man, to run from her leaving his garment and then being fired because of her false witness against him. After he is fired by Mrs Booby, he travels about and has several misadventures. The themes are charity vs hypocrisy. In this story the show more wealthy are hypocrites and not generous and the lowly are generous. It was likely included as one of the 1001 books ymrbyd because of its role in developing the English novel. Other aspects include its narrative style and its social satire and humor.

Narrative technique: the author uses an intrusive, third-person omniscient narrator who actively comments, digresses, and even lectures the reader, creating a "comic epic poem in prose" that satirizes Samuel Richardson's Pamela and educates the reader through self-reflexivity and irony, forcing them to interpret moral truths rather than just passively receive them. Key techniques include direct address, chapter-opening essays, metafiction, and ironic qualification, making the reader conscious of the reading process itself.

I found the book a bit slow for such a short novel. I think Tom Jones a better novel (but it is longer). I wonder if reading Pamela before or immediately after reading this would make a difference in the experience of both novels. I thought the characters tended to be stereotypic and not fully developed characters. It is a social commentary that I think paints a black and white picture of class. The author used names to paint a picture of the characters; Booby, Slipshop, Joseph Andrew, Abraham Adam, and Goodwill.

Joseph Andrews: His name alludes to the biblical story of Joseph. Both are favored, face adversity (thrown into a "pit" or having their identity hidden), and, importantly, resist the sexual advances of predatory mistresses (Potiphar's wife in the Bible, Lady Booby in the novel).
Parson Abraham Adams: This name combines two key biblical figures. "Abraham" references the father of mankind and a figure known for obedience to God, while "Adam" is the first man. The Parson acts as a spiritual father to his parishioners and models his faith on Abraham's
"Booby" is a term for a foolish, stupid person, reflecting her moral and intellectual shortcomings.
Mrs. Slipslop: Her name evokes slovenliness or carelessness, matching her character as a slightly comical, lecherous servant. show less

This is a fine work both to allow the reader insight into England in the 18th century away from court and cathedral, and to provide a peek into the early invention of the English novel.

Fielding's characters paint a vivid picture of how well, or how poorly, people reside within their assigned class levels. Parson Adams, though often playing the naive fool, establishes an expectation of noble Christian behaviour against which Fielding's 'Canterbury Tale'-like characters can be measured. At the same time, Fielding uses Adams to allow the title character to evolve from the pure innocent, who falls into difficulty, to become resurrected as the fully realized, real-life hero.

As a story of life among the lower and middle classes, this is a show more fine read. But I found the brilliant excellent construction of this novel to be a real eye-opener as far as the development of the early novel is concerned. show less

I enjoy Fielding's sense of humor & loved the author's introductory commentary in each 'book' as well as the satirical melodrama of the plot. The humor of this book is enhanced if the reader is familiar with Richardson's Pamela (Joseph is supposedly Pamela's brother).