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Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 1: Henry Fielding—Joseph Andrews

Unit 1: Henry Fielding—Joseph Andrews Notes

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
1.1 Henry Fielding—Joseph Andrews (Non–detailed): Introduction to the Author
1.1.1 Biography of Henry Fielding
1.2 Introduction to the Text—Joseph Andrews
1.3 Summary
1.4 Keywords
1.5 Review Questions
1.6 Further Readings

Objectives

After studying this unit, you will be able to:
• Discuss the biography of Henry Fielding
• Explain Joseph Andrews-Introduction to the text.

Introduction

Joseph Andrews, or The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend
Mr. Abraham Adams, was the first published full-length novel of the English author and
magistrate Henry Fielding, and indeed among the first novels in the English language. Published
in 1742 and defined by Fielding as a ‘comic romance’, it is the story of a good-natured footman’s
adventures on the road home from London with his friend and mentor, the absent-minded
parson Abraham Adams. The novel represents the coming together of the two competing
aesthetics of eighteenth-century literature: the mock-heroic and neoclassical (and, by extension,
aristocratic) approach of Augustans such as Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift; and the
popular, domestic prose fiction of novelists such as Daniel Defoe and Samuel Richardson.
The novel draws on a variety of inspirations. Written “in imitation of the manner of Cervantes,
the author of Don Quixote”, the work owes much of its humour to the techniques developed
by Cervantes, and its subject-matter to the seemingly loose arrangement of events, digressions
and lower-class characters to the genre of writing known as picaresque. In deference to the
literary tastes and recurring tropes of the period, it relies on bawdy humour, an impending
marriage and a mystery surrounding unknown parentage, but conversely is rich in philosophical
digressions, classical erudition and social purpose.

1.1 Henry Fielding—Joseph Andrews (Non–detailed): Introduction to

the Author

Introduction to the Author
Henry Fielding (Sharpham, 22 April 1707 – near Lisbon, 8 October 1754) was an English
novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the
author of the novel Tom Jones.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 1