Fielding himself described Joseph Andrews as a satire "in imitation of the manner of Cervantes." its original purpose was to heap ridicule on the then popular romantic heroine of Samuel Richardson's Pamela. But the novel grew beyond its first intention and became more than a mere parody. In its own right it earned the status of one of the major works of fiction of the mid-eighteenth century and was the forerunner of Fielding's masterpiece, Tom Jones (Modern Library No. 185).  Broadly ironic and rich in its commentary on the pretenses and follies of English society, Joseph Andrews is a novel of manners and character, written with insight and tolerance and sharp wit. It is by these two novels that Fielding is acknowledged the master by whom the great school of Victorian novelists was inspired.