All You Can Books

An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews

Henry Fielding

924 ratings
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews | Henry Fielding

An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews

Download Here

Download Audiobook
Download eBook

Read eBook Online

Download eBook PDF
An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, or simply Shamela, as it is more commonly known, is a satirical novel written by Henry Fielding under the name of Mr. Conny Keyber. Fielding never owned to writing the work, but it is widely considered to be his. It is a direct attack on the then-popular novel Pamela by Fielding's contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson and is composed, like Pamela, in epistolary form. Shamela is written as a shocking revelation of the true events which took place in the life of Pamela Andrews, the main heroine of Pamela. From Shamela we learn that, instead of being a kind, humble, and chaste servant-girl, Pamela (whose true name turns out to be Shamela) is in fact a wicked and lascivious creature, scheming to entrap her master, Squire Booby, into marriage. (Summary by Wikipedia)
out Emotion, unless by one of my Age and Temper, who can see the Girl lie on her Back, with one Arm round Mrs. Jewkes and the other round the Squire, naked in Bed, with his Hand on her Breasts, &c. with as much Indifference as I read any other Page in the whole Novel. But surely this, and some other Descriptions, will not be put into the hands of his Daughter by any wise Man, though I believe it will be difficult for him to keep them from her; especially if the Clergy in Town have cried and preached it up as you say.

But, my Friend, the whole Narrative is such a Misrepresentation of Facts, such a Perversion of Truth, as you will, I am perswaded, agree, as soon as you have perused the Papers I now inclose to you, that I hope you or some other well-disposed Person, will communicate these Papers to the Publick, that this little Jade may not impose on the World, as she hath on her Master.

The true name of this Wench was Shamela, and not Pamela, as she stiles herself. Her Father had in his Youth the Misfortune to appear in no good Light at the Old-Bailey; he afterwards served in the Capacity of a Drummer in one of the Scotch Regiments in the Dutch Service; where being drummed out, he came over to England, and turned Informer against several Persons on the late Gin-Act; and becoming acquainted with an Hostler at an Inn, where a Scotch Gentleman's Horses stood, he hath at last by his Interest obtain'd a pretty snug Place in the Custom-house. Her Mother sold Oranges in the Play-House; [Pg 8] and whether she was married to her Father or no, I never could learn.


After this short Introduction, the rest of her History will appear in the following Letters, which I assure you are authentick.

Majenta 02/24/2020
(view spoiler)[ Virtuous wins another girl the BOOBY Prize! (hide spoiler)]
Alex 01/02/2015
Well, it's certainly better than Pamela was. I laughed a few times. If you've slogged through all of Pamela, you might as well blitz through this too; it's only 50 pages or so.
Jonathan 04/24/2013
This "novel" is far more meaningful in the context of its parodic namesake, Pamela. Straddling cynicism and satire, Fielding delivers an anti-plot with a lot of laughs, but does not have much of his own story. Shamela still manages to be a good read.
Jessica 07/20/2010
This is hilarious. It totally makes reading all of Pamela worthwhile.

How It Works

30-day FREE trial

Get ALL YOU CAN BOOKS absolutely FREE for 30 days. Download our FREE app and enjoy unlimited downloads of our entire library with no restrictions.

UNLIMITED access

Have immediate access and unlimited downloads to over 200,000 books, courses, podcasts, and more with no restrictions.

Forever Downloads

Everything you download during your trial is yours to keep and enjoy for free, even if you cancel during the trial. Cancel Anytime. No risk. No obligations.

Significant Savings

For just $24.99 per month, you can continue to have unlimited access to our entire library. To put that into perspective, most other services charge the same amount for just one book!

Start Your Free Trial Now

Our Story

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

As avid readers, we understand the joy of immersing ourselves in a captivating story or getting lost in the pages of a good book. That's why we founded All You Can Books back in 2010, to create a platform where people can access an extensive library of quality content and discover new favorites.

Since our founding days, we’ve continuously added to our vast library and currently have over 200,000 titles, including ebooks, audiobooks, language learning courses, podcasts, bestseller summaries, travel books, and more! Our goal at All You Can Books is to ensure we have something for everyone.

Join our community of book lovers and explore the world of literature and beyond!