Abandoned as an infant and of unknown parentage, Tom Jones is raised in the household of the irreproachable, altruistic Squire Allworthy. Growing up to be a high-spirited, lusty youth, Tom finds himself vulnerable to temptation in the form of the local wenches, though his heart is ultimately claimed by the beautiful Sophia Western, the daughter of a neighbouring landowner. When Tom's erotic misadventures compel the squire to expel him from his home, and when Sophia flees from her domineering and boisterous father to avoid an undesired union with the odious Master Blifil, a colourful, picaresque journey through eighteenth-century England ensues, one punctuated by a parade of unforgettable Hogarthian grotesques and timeless comic set-pieces. Characterized by both razor-sharp wit and broad, bawdy humour, and described by Coleridge as boasting one of the "three most perfect plots ever planned", Tom Jones was an instant hit on its publication in 1749, and is widely considered one of the greatest works of English literature and a foundation stone in the development of the English novel.

An accurate text of Shamela (Fielding s satire of Samuel Richardson s Pamela, the most popular epistolary novel of the eighteenth century) as well as An Essay on the Knowledge of the Characters of Men, selections from The Champion, and the Preface to The Adventures of David Simple are also included. All of the texts are fully annotated. "Backgrounds" contains generous extracts from works that Fielding satirized Pamela and Conyer Middleton s Dedication to the Life of Cicero and emulated Gil Blas and selections from Don Quixote, the Roman Comique, and Le Paysan Parvenu. The section concludes with a general explanation of the political and religious contexts in which Joseph Andrews was written. "Criticism" offers a broad range of responses to the novel. Contemporary assessments include selected letters of Thomas Gray, William Shenstone, Samuel Richardson, and others as well as commentary from The Student, or Oxford and Cambridge Monthly Miscellany, by William Hazlitt, James Beattie, and Sarah Fielding and Jane Collier. Modern assessments are by Mark Spilka, Dick Taylor, Jr., Martin Battestin, Sheldon Sacks, Morris Golden, Brian McCrea, and Homer Goldberg. A Selected Bibliography is also included."

'I beg as soon as you get Fielding's Joseph Andrews, I fear in Ridicule of your Pamela and of Virtue in the Notion of Don Quixote's Manner, you would send it to me by the very first Coach.' (George Cheyne in a letter to Samuel Richardson, February 1742) Both Joseph Andrews (1742) and Shamela (1741) were prompted by the success of Richardson's Pamela (1740), of which Shamela is a splendidly bawdy parody. But in Shamela Fielding also demonstrates his concern for the corruption of contemporary society, politics, religion, morality, and taste. The same themes - together with a presentation of love as charity, as friendship, and in its sexual taste - are present in Joseph Andrews, Fielding's first novel. It is a work of considerable literary sophistication and satirical verve, but its appeal lies also in its spirit of comic affirmation, epitomized in the celebrated character of Parson Adams. This revised and expanded edition follows the text of Joseph Andrews established by Martin C. Battestin for the definitive Wesleyan Edition of Fielding's works. The text of Shamela is based on the first edition, and two substantial appendices reprint the preliminary matter from Conyers Middleton's Life of Cicero and the second edition of Richardson's Pamela (both closely parodied in Shamela). A new introduction by Thomas Keymer situates Fielding's works in their critical and historical contexts. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Published together for the first time, Eliza Haywood's Anti-Pamela and Henry Fielding's An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews are the two most important responses to Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela. Anti-Pamela comments on Richardson's representations of work, virtue, and gender, while also questioning the generic expectations of the novel that Pamela establishes, and it provides a vivid portrayal of the material realities of life for a woman in eighteenth-century London. Fielding's Shamela punctures both the figure Richardson established for himself as an author and Pamela's preoccupation with virtue. This Broadview edition also includes a rich selection of historical materials, including writings from the period on sexuality, women's work, Pamela and the print trade, and education and conduct.

The novel is fully annotated for undergraduate readers and is accompanied by a Textual Appendix and a map depicting Tom s route to London. As in the previous edition, "Contemporary Reactions" by such noteworthy commentators as Samuel Richardson, Samuel Johnson, and the Hill sisters provide rich historical context. "Criticism" is a collection of fourteen interpretations of the novel spanning the years 1826 1990 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Forsyth, Kenneth Rexroth, R. S. Crane, John Preston, William Empson, Wayne C. Booth, Martin Battestin, Maaja A. Stewart, Eleanor N. Hutchens, Sean Shesgreen, Frederick W. Hilles, and Sheridan Baker. A new Chronology and an updated Selected Bibliography are also included."

Two hundred years have not dimmed Fielding's realism. His humor is closer to our own than that of any other writer before the present century."-Kingsley Amis "An exquisite picture of human manners."-Edward Gibbon "The plotting is complex, astonishing and perfect. It brims with good nature and generosity of spirit....it's full of jokes, suspense, cliffhangers, narrative reversals and pathos."-Jonathan Cole The History of Tom Jones is Henry Fielding's greatest work and one of literature's earliest examples of a fully realized protagonist, with both virtues and vices on abundant display. The picaresque story of the orphan Tom, his exile, then subsequent adventures and loves is bristling with the spirit of mid-18th century Britain yet remains a deeply ambitious novel.The frank portrayal of human nature and innovative narrative structure of this classic continues to entice readers hundreds of years after it's publication. When Mr. Allworthy, a kind country squire, returns from London he finds a baby boy in one of the beds of his estate. Through his inquiry, he determines that the mother is a local woman named Jenny Jones. Allworthy sends her away from the country, and decides to raise the boy, named Tom Jones, with his unmarried sister in their home. Soon after, Allworthy's sister marries and gives birth to her own boy, known as Blifil. He initially appears to be virtuous, yet as he grows it becomes apparent he inherently deceitful. Years later, when Squire Allworthy falls ill Blifil betrays Tom, and he is banished from the house. In his exile, Tom's adventures across his country begin. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The History of Tom Jones is both modern and readable.

Two hundred years have not dimmed Fielding's realism. His humor is closer to our own than that of any other writer before the present century."-Kingsley Amis "An exquisite picture of human manners."-Edward Gibbon "The plotting is complex, astonishing and perfect. It brims with good nature and generosity of spirit....it's full of jokes, suspense, cliffhangers, narrative reversals and pathos."-Jonathan Cole The History of Tom Jones is Henry Fielding's greatest work and one of literature's earliest examples of a fully realized protagonist, with both virtues and vices on abundant display. The picaresque story of the orphan Tom, his exile, then subsequent adventures and loves is bristling with the spirit of mid-18th century Britain yet remains a deeply ambitious novel.The frank portrayal of human nature and innovative narrative structure of this classic continues to entice readers hundreds of years after it's publication. When Mr. Allworthy, a kind country squire, returns from London he finds a baby boy in one of the beds of his estate. Through his inquiry, he determines that the mother is a local woman named Jenny Jones. Allworthy sends her away from the country, and decides to raise the boy, named Tom Jones, with his unmarried sister in their home. Soon after, Allworthy's sister marries and gives birth to her own boy, known as Blifil. He initially appears to be virtuous, yet as he grows it becomes apparent he inherently deceitful. Years later, when Squire Allworthy falls ill Blifil betrays Tom, and he is banished from the house. In his exile, Tom's adventures across his country begin. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The History of Tom Jones is both modern and readable.

"The first taste I had for books came to me from my pleasure in the fables of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. For at about seven or eight years of age I would steal away from any other pleasure to read them, inasmuch as this language was my mother tongue, and it was the easiest book I knew and the best suited by its content to my tender age." -Michel de Montaigne The Lover's Assistant; or, New Art of Love (1760) is an updated translation of Ovid's Ars Amatoria; or, The Art of Love (2 AD) by English satirist Henry Fielding. Divided into three books, Ars Amatoria; or, The Art of Love was immensely popular-if a little controversial-in its time, and has survived numerous charges of indecency over the centuries. For the modern reader, it should prove a surprisingly relatable work on intimacy from an author of the ancient world. Fielding's translation, of the first book alone, remains true to Ovid's Latin while updating its examples and historical context for the contemporary English reader. At times serious, at others humorous, The Lover's Assistant; or, New Art of Love uses a mix of down-to-earth examples and relatable references to mythology in order to offer salient advice for the reader longing for love. Maintaining much of Ovid's content, Fielding replaces the context of the poem-ancient Rome-with that of his contemporary England. Topics include etiquette, remembering birthdays, avoiding unhealthy jealousy, being open to older and younger lovers, and nurturing honesty. With his wry wit and clear-eyed sense of English aristocratic life, Fielding-who is seen as a pioneer of English literature for his work, including the comic novel Tom Jones (1749)-provides a loyal reinterpretation of Ovid's classic study of romance between men and women. The Lover's Assistant; or, New Art of Love, although frequently tongue-in-cheek, is an earnest and effective attempt to enlighten and encourage its readers to partake-responsibly-in one of life's greatest pleasures. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Ovid's The Lover's Assistant; or, New Art of Love is a classic work of Roman literature reimagined for modern readers.

'he carried Good-nature to that wonderful and uncommon Height, that he never did a single Injury to Man or Woman, by which he himself did not expect to reap some Advantage' The real-life Jonathan Wild, gangland godfather and self-styled 'Thieftaker General', controlled much of the London underworld until he was executed for his crimes in 1725. Even during his lifetime his achievements attracted attention; after his death balladeers sang of his exploits, and satirists made connections between his success and the triumph of corruption in high places. Henry Fielding built on these narratives to produce one of the greatest sustained satires in the English language. Published in 1743, at a time when the modern novel had yet to establish itself as a fixed literary form, Jonathan Wild is at the same time a brilliant black comedy, an incisive political satire, and a profoundly serious exploration of human 'greatness' and 'goodness'. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Modern Husband * The Clandestine Marriage * She Stoops to Conquer * Wild Oats This edition brings together four eighteenth-century comedies that illustrate the full variety of the century's drama. Fielding's The Modern Husband , written before the 1737 Licensing Act that restricted political and social comment, depicts wife-pandering and widespread social corruption. In Garrick and Colman's The Clandestine Marriage two lovers marry in defiance of parental wishes and rue the consequences. She Stoops to Conquer explores the comic and not-so-comic consequences of mistaken identity, and in Wild Oats, the 'strolling player' Rover is a beacon of hope at a time of unrest. Part of the Oxford English Drama series, this edition has modern-spelling texts, critical introduction, wide-ranging annotation and an informative bibliography. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.