Henry Fielding
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews
"An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews" by Henry Fielding is a satirical novella published in 1741. This sharp parody attacks Samuel Richardson's popular novel "Pamela" by revealing its heroine as a scheming imposter. Through fake letters, Fielding transforms Richardson's virtuous servant girl into Shamela—a cunning prostitute's daughter who manipulates her master into marriage. The work mocks Richardson's moral messages about female chastity as commodity and exposes what Fielding saw as hypocrisy beneath the original's surface, rewriting the beloved tale through a deforming magnifying glass.