The Anti-Pamela: Or, Feign'd Innocence Detected (1741) is a novel by
Eliza Haywood. Blending tragedy and comedy, Haywood explores the
intersection of gender and class to reveal how women perform and
experience desire. Written in response to Samuel Richardson's Pamela;
Or, Virtue Rewarded, a novel in which a young girl resists the advances
of her wealthy employer and eventually marries him honorably, Haywood's
novel flips the portrayal of static feminine desire on its head. Unlike
Pamela, her protagonist is an anti-heroine who wields her sexuality for
the purpose of social mobility, showing resilience and determination
despite her repeated failures. Syrena Tricksy knows what she wants from
men. To get it, she disguises herself as an unmarried aristocrat, a
mistress, a widow, and a libertine, each time in pursuit of a wealthy
nobleman to marry. Playing these parts with ease, she frequently gets in
her own way, failing at the last moment through carelessness and greed.
Resourceful and independent, Syrena is a character at odds with the
stereotypical portrayal of feminine sexuality. She may not be perfect,
but she is never passive. As a parody of Samuel Richardson's popular
novel of morality, The Anti-Pamela: Or, Feign'd Innocence Detected
lampoons the unrealistic character at the heart of Pamela, a woman who
gets what she wants through virtue alone. With a beautifully designed
cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Eliza
Haywood's The Anti-Pamela: Or, Feign'd Innocence Detected is a classic
of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
