An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews, or simply Shamela, as it is more commonly known, is a satirical burlesque novella by English writer Henry Fielding. It was first published in April 1741 under the name of Mr. Conny Keyber. Fielding never admitted to writing the work, but it is widely considered to be his. It is a direct attack on the then-popular novel Pamela (1740) by Fielding's contemporary and rival Samuel Richardson and is composed, like Pamela, in epistolary form. Publishing history Shamela was originally published anonymously on 4 April 1741 and sold for one shilling and sixpence. A second edition came out on 3 November that same year which was partly reimpressed and partly reset where emendations were made. A pirated edition was printed in Dublin in 1741 as well. Reprint editions have subsequently appeared as texts for academic study. Plot summary 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. Shamela starts with a letter from a Parson Thomas Tickletext to his friend, Parson J. Oliver, in which Tickletext is completely smitten by Pamela, and insists Oliver gives the book a read. In response, however, Oliver reveals her true nature is not so virtuous, and he has letters to prove her real character. The rest of the story is told in letters between the major characters, such as Shamela, her mother, Henrietta Maria Honora Andrews—who is unwed in this version—Master Booby, Mrs. Jeweks, Mrs. Jervis, and Rev. Arthur Williams, much like in Pamela. In this version, however, her father is not present at all. In Shamela we also 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—daughter to a London prostitute—who schemes to entrap her master, Squire Booby, into marriage. Later, however, it was discovered Shamela was having an affair with the Reverend. The verbal and physical violence of Richardson's "Mr. B" (whose name is revealed to Booby) to his servant maid are hyperbolized, rendering their supposed love-match contemptible and absurd. Themes and style The novel is a sustained parody of, and direct response to, the stylistic failings and moral hypocrisy that Fielding saw in Richardson's Pamela. Reading Shamela amounts to re-reading Pamela through a deforming magnifying glass; Richardson's text