Shamela

Written by the great English writer Henry Fielding, Shamela (1741), or An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, is an eighteenth-century parody of the then hugely popular, moralistic book by Samuel Richardson, Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740).

Shamela has themes of sexual hypocrisy, corruption, and pretentious writing styles and authors. Conveyed in the form of letters (an epistolary novel) Fielding published under the pseudonym Conny Keyber. Along with ridiculing Richardson, Shamela satirizes Conyers Middleton’s Life of Cicero, which was dedicated to the British Prime Minister to curry favor, and a memoir by the opportunistic stage manager-actor, Colley Cibber, whose memoir was full of typos. At sixty pages, Shamela is a highly condensed replica of Pamela, which went on for several hundred pages.

In the original Pamela, the main character is an exceedingly virtuous woman who wards off lusty men in order to protect her purity. In Fielding’s parody, Shamela becomes a conniving and scheming woman who ensnares a wealthy man into an unhappy marriage. She routinely mispronounces virtue, calling it “Vartue” instead.



Shamela begins with the claim that all of the letters written by the characters of Pamela will be displayed in the following pages. The next letter is a letter to the editor written by Conny Keyber; the editor happens to be Conny Keyber; this is a parody of Richardson's preface in the second edition of Pamela where he praised Pamela for being such a bestseller that was translated into several languages. Keyber declaims that he is dedicating this volume of letters to a beautiful young woman whose numerous virtues are similar to Pamela.

The first letter belonging to a character is by Parson Thomas Tickletext. Tickletext is a kind but gullible man. Writing to his good friend Parson J. Oliver, Tickletext suggests that Oliver read Pamela someday. He really believes the novel’s emphasis on chastity and righteous living would make a good read for young women throughout England.

Oliver responds with a batch of letters he says were actually written by Pamela. In these letters, it is discovered that Pamela’s birth name is actually Shamela. Her father was a Scottish drummer in the army, but he deserted and became a gambler and pimp. Her mother, Henrietta Maria Honora Andrews, gave birth to her out of wedlock; she is not, as claimed in Pamela, from a noble family. Parson Oliver says that she doesn’t, in reality, deserve any sort of reward because she isn’t, and has never been, virtuous.



Shamela and Henrietta work as servants in the English estate, Booby Hall. Booby Hall is owned by none other than Squire Booby, a preposterous fool of a man. Shamela writes to her mother with the good news that Squire Booby has taken a liking to her. Recently, he held her hand, and she pretended to be exceedingly shy. When he kissed her, she pretended to be angry. Her mother replies that she has a great role to play to secure his affections, and advises Shamela to collect as much money as she can before Squire Booby kisses her again.

The letters show that Shamela and Mrs. Lucretia Jervis, one of Squire Booby’s maids, are conspiring together for Squire Booby to marry Shamela. They are obstructed (barely) by Mrs. Jewkes, one of Squire Booby’s faithful maids. And while one would expect the church representatives to intervene against this potential marriage, Parson Arthur Williams, seeing an advantage for himself were Shamela to ascend the social ladder, joins the schemes to position the two into holy matrimony. While he’s at it, he also takes on Shamela as a not-so-secret lover.

Shamela flaunts her “virtue” in front of Squire Booby. When they both know that he can overhear them talking, Shamela tells Mrs. Jervis that though she finds Squire Booby to be a charming gentleman, she will resist all of his romantic inclinations in order to protect her “vartue.” She recalls all of the strong, moral lessons her own mother taught her about the willful ways of men, how they can zap your “vartue” by the day then flee into the night forever. Mrs. Jervis melodramatically praises the virtuous Shamela.



Shamela sends her mother the letter that Squire Booby sent to her praising her behavior, declaring his love, and implying that together they can live a life of “Honor.” Her mother is overjoyed by the news and notes that Shamela shouldn’t be too sad about “ending” her relationship with Parson Williams as they can still see each other on the side.

The editor notes that letters related to Booby’s proposal and their wedding ceremony have been lost. So, the narrative skips to the protagonist writing as “Shamela Booby.” Pamela writes to her mother that she successfully pretended to be a virgin on their wedding night. Her last letter says that Squire Booby pitched the story of their love to Samuel Richardson, and she has a good laugh that her life will appear in some book.

With the letters concluded, Parson Tickletext is grateful that his friend shared the letters and exposed this Pamela to be a Shamela. He concludes his letter in a post-script, saying that Shamela and Parson Williams were recently discovered sleeping together; Squire Booby caught them, has forced his wife out of his own house, and is informing the church about Parson William’s indiscretions.