The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. It is a Bildungsroman and a picaresque novel. It was first published on 28 February 1749 in London and is among the earliest English works to be classified as a novel. It is the earliest novel mentioned by W. Somerset Maugham in his 1948 book Great Novelists and Their Novels among the ten best novels of the world.
The fight at the inn at Upton
Caption at bottom: SOPHIA WESTERN: "Adorned with all the charms in which Nature can array her, bedecked with beauty, youth, sprightliness, innocence, modesty and tenderness, breathing sweetness from her rosy lips and darting brightness from her sparkling eyes, the lovely Sophia comes!" This depicts the heroine of the novel, but shows her in the latest fashions of 1800, rather than in the historically accurate hoop skirts of 1749 – it would have been extremely difficult to skip in the clothing styles (and high-heeled shoes) of 1749...
Henry Fielding was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling was a seminal work in the genre. Along with Samuel Richardson, Fielding is seen as the founder of the traditional English novel. He also played an important role in the history of law enforcement in the United Kingdom, using his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first professional police force.
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding, about 1743, etching from Jonathan Wild
Henry Fielding Memorial at Widcombe Lodge in Bath
Henry Fielding's grave in the cemetery of the Church of England St. George's Church, Lisbon
