History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Henry Fielding
History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
FictionMysteryRomanceClassicsHumor & SatireComing of Age
36h 5m listening
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"History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" by Henry Fielding is a comic novel published in 1749. This picaresque tale follows Tom, an abandoned baby raised by the wealthy Squire Allworthy, as he grows into a spirited youth who falls in love with his neighbor's daughter, Sophia Western. When jealous schemes and his status as a foundling threaten their romance, Tom is banished and embarks on adventurous travels across Britain. Mysteries of birth, cases of mistaken identity, and unexpected revelations converge in this intricately plotted story of love and fortune.
Contains spoilers for the entire book
- Themes
- Atmosphere
About the book
Published in 1749, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling begins when the good-hearted Squire Allworthy finds an abandoned baby in his bed and raises him on his Somerset estate. Tom grows up generous, impulsive and frequently in trouble, in love with Sophia Western, the daughter of a neighbouring squire, and resented by Allworthy’s calculating nephew Blifil. Henry Fielding sends Tom out on the road to London through inns, quarrels and romantic entanglements, and opens each of the novel’s eighteen books with a chapter of the narrator’s own reflections. The comedy is broad and the plotting intricate, and beneath them runs Fielding’s argument that a warm heart matters more than outward respectability.
Characters
Tom Jones — Protagonist
A generous but impulsive foundling raised by Squire Allworthy, whose adventures repeatedly compromise his reputation.
Sophia Western — Tom's beloved
A young woman whose intelligence and resolve resist the marriage plans made for her.
Squire Allworthy — Tom's guardian
A benevolent country gentleman whose trust and judgment shape Tom's upbringing.
Blifil — Tom's rival
Allworthy's nephew, whose outward rectitude conceals hostility toward Tom.
Squire Western — Sophia's father
A boisterous landowner determined to arrange his daughter's future.
Partridge — Traveling companion
A talkative former schoolmaster who accompanies Tom on the road.
About the author
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) was an English novelist, playwright and magistrate, born at Sharpham Park in Somerset and educated at Eton. In the 1730s he was one of London’s most successful playwrights, but his political satires helped bring about the Licensing Act of 1737, which ended his career in the theatre. He trained as a lawyer, and turned to the novel, beginning with Shamela (1741), a parody of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, and continuing with Joseph Andrews (1742), Tom Jones (1749) and Amelia (1751). His comic, digressive and generous fiction helped establish the English novel as a form. As a magistrate at Bow Street in London, he and his half-brother John organised the Bow Street Runners, an early professional police force. In failing health he sailed to Lisbon in 1754, and died there that autumn.