The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Henry Fielding, 1749

Comic classics

A foundling's adventures unfold under the eye of a narrator eager to discuss his own storytelling.

Read the book Contents

Length: 208 chapters
Reading time: About 24 hr
Words: 342,801

About the book

Fielding opens by comparing an author's work to the provision of a meal, making readers aware of the choices involved in presenting a story. He then introduces Squire Allworthy and his household, where the circumstances of a child's upbringing will become part of a larger social comedy.

The narrator's presence gives the novel two kinds of movement: the events themselves and a running conversation about how to understand them. Judgements of virtue, birth and behaviour are repeatedly placed under scrutiny. Its expansive form makes room for encounters that complicate a simple verdict on a person.

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Comic classics

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Henry Fielding died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original dedication.