Page "Epistolary novel" Paragraph 7

Starting in the 18th century, the epistolary form was subject to much ridicule, resulting in a number of savage burlesques.

The most notable example of these was Henry Fielding's Shamela ( 1741 ), written as a parody of Pamela.

In it, the female narrator can be found wielding a pen and scribbling her diary entries under the most dramatic and unlikely of circumstances.