This riotous tale of innocents in a corrupt world was one of the earliest English novels. Published in 1742, it tells the story of a chaste servant. After being sacked for spurning the advances of the lascivious Lady Booby, Joseph Andrews takes to the road, accompanied by his beloved Fanny Goodwill and the absent-minded, much put-upon Parson Adams. There they encounter robbers, tricksters, seducers, mishaps, and strange twists of fortune.
