Henry Fielding's picaresque tale of a young man's search for his
place in the world, The History of Tom Jones is edited with notes
and an introduction by Thomas Keymer and Alice Wakely in Penguin
Classics. A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr
Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with
the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter
of the neighbouring squire - though he sometimes succumbs to the
charms of the local girls. But when his amorous escapades earn the
disapproval of his benefactor, Tom is banished to make his own
fortune. Sophia, meanwhile, is determined to avoid an arranged
marriage to Allworthy's scheming nephew and escapes from her
rambunctious father to follow Tom to London. A vivid Hogarthian
panorama of eighteenth century life, spiced with danger and
intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial
interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious
comic novels in English literature. In his introduction Thomas
Keymer discusses narrative techniques and themes, the context of
eighteenth century fiction and satire, and the historical and
political background of the Jacobite rebellion. This volume also
includes a chronology, further reading, notes, a glossary and an
appendix on Fielding's revisions. Henry Fielding (1707-1754) born
at Sharpham Park, in Somerset, was a dramatist, novelist, political
agitator and founder of London's first police force, the 'Bow
Street Runners'. As a playwright he was a thorn in the side of Sir
Robert Walpole's Whig government, who effectively legislated his
retirement from the theatre with the Licensing Act of 1737.
Undeterred, Fielding launched his career as a novelist in 1740 with
Shamela (a parody of Samuel Richardson's Pamela), followed by
Joseph Andrews (1741), an anticipation of his masterpiece, the
comic novel Tom Jones (1749). If you enjoyed The History of Tom
Jones, you might like Henry Fielding's The Life and Opinions of
Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, also available in Penguin Classics.
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