57-403: Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) 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
114-776: A pre-emptive attack on Spain , Pitt resigned. While some of the group followed him, George Grenville remained in cabinet with the rest of the old Cobhamite party - this led to a degree of bad-feeling and the break-up of what had been a cohesive group for nearly thirty years. Even after the war was concluded with the Peace of Paris in 1763 the split continued with some joining the Grenvillite party that held office in 1763 with George Grenville as Prime Minister, while others joined Pitt in opposition. This switched over in 1766 when Pitt became First Minister, and Grenville led his own followers into opposition. The two groups held strikingly opposing views on
171-421: A "comic epic poem in prouse", he blended two classical traditions: that of the epic, which had been poetic, and that of the drama, but emphasizing the comic rather than the tragic. Another distinction of Joseph Andrews and the novels to come was use of everyday reality of character and action, as opposed to the fables of the past. While begun as a parody, it developed into an accomplished novel in its own right and
228-465: 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
285-400: A barber, Partridge, who was banished from town because he was thought to be Tom's father. He becomes Tom's faithful companion in the hope of restoring his reputation. During their journey, they end up at an inn. While they are there, a lady and her maid arrive. An angry man arrives, and the chambermaid points him in the direction that she thinks he needs to go. He bursts in on Tom and Mrs Waters,
342-447: A bastard causes Sophia's father and Allworthy to disapprove their love. Squire Allworthy falls ill and is convinced that he is dying. His family and servants gather around his bed as he disposes of his wealth. He gives a favourable amount of it to Tom, which displeases Master Blifil. Tom does not care about what he has been given, since his only concern is Allworthy's health. Allworthy's health improves and he learns that he will live. Tom
399-463: A broken heart." Captain Blifil and Bridget start to grow cool towards one another, and the former is found dead from apoplexy one evening after taking his customary evening stroll before dinner. By then, he has fathered a boy who grows up with the bastard Tom. Captain Blifil's son, known as Master Blifil, is a jealous boy who conspires against Tom. Tom grows into a youth. He tends to be closer friends with
456-588: A fortnightly, The Covent-Garden Journal , published under the pseudonym "Sir Alexander Drawcansir, Knt., Censor of Great Britain" until November of that year. Here Fielding challenged the "armies of Grub Street " and periodical writers of the day in a conflict that became the Paper War of 1752–1753 . Fielding then published Examples of the Interposition of Providence in the Detection and Punishment of Murder (1752),
513-533: A general Whig philosophy and were at first supporters of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole but later became opponents of his administration . The group emerged during the breakdown of the two-party system in Britain when the dominant Whig party had split into several factions - many of whom were in opposition to their fellow Whigs who were in government. Lord Cobham had originally been a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole when he became Prime Minister in 1721, voting with
570-585: A group of supporters around him, often holding their meetings at Cobham's famous estate at Stowe House in Buckinghamshire. They were a mixture of MPs, Peers as well as some prospective politicians. The writer Alexander Pope was associated with the group. Although almost exclusively made up of Whigs, the group worked closely with the Tories who made up the bulk of the Opposition, and shared Cobham's sharp dislike of
627-511: A lifelong friendship with William Pitt the Elder . His mother died when he was 11. A suit for custody was brought by his grandmother against his charming but irresponsible father, Lt Gen. Edmund Fielding . The settlement placed Henry in his grandmother's care, but he continued to see his father in London. In 1725, Henry tried to abduct his cousin Sarah Andrews (with whom he was infatuated) while she
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#1732852319868684-447: A long line of further themes. For instance, introductory chapters dwell extensively on bad writers and critics, quite unrelated to the plot but apologetic to the author and the novel itself; and authorial commentary on several characters shows strong opposition to Methodism , calling it fanatical and heretical , and falsely implying an association between Methodism and hypocrites such as the younger Blifil. The novel takes place against
741-430: A man who died before he was born. Tom is thus Squire Allworthy's nephew. After finding out about the intrigues of Blifil, who is Tom's half-brother, Allworthy decides to bestow most of his inheritance on Tom. After Tom's true parentage is revealed, he and Sophia marry, as Squire Western no longer harbours any misgivings about Tom marrying his daughter. Sophia bears Tom a son and a daughter, and the couple live on happily with
798-557: A minor piece in his life's work, it reflects his preoccupation with fraud, shamming and masks. His greatest work is The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749), a meticulous comic novel with elements of the picaresque and the Bildungsroman , telling a convoluted tale of how a foundling came into a fortune. The novel tells of Tom's alienation from his foster father, Squire Allworthy, and his sweetheart, Sophia Western, and his reconciliation with them after lively and dangerous adventures on
855-477: A political follower of Chesterfield. The other prominent opposition paper, Common Sense , founded by Chesterfield and Lyttelton, was named after a character in Fielding's Pasquin (1736). Fielding wrote at least two articles for it in 1737 and 1738. Fielding continued to air political views in satirical articles and newspapers in the late 1730s and early 1740s. He was the main writer and editor from 1739 to 1740 for
912-522: A post in the administration almost because King George II disliked him due to repeated criticisms Pitt had made of Hanover. Pitt and the remaining Cobhamites continued to give the government their support for the next few years, and Pitt was finally rewarded by being given the job of Paymaster of the Forces which did not require regular contact with the King. By the 1750s the group became distinctly displeased with
969-554: A series of attacks on Walpole in Parliament, which slowly helped to erode the Prime Minister's authority. Most distressing to the group was the Prime Minister's poor handling of the War of Jenkins' Ear which had broken out in 1739. Walpole was distinctly anti-war and had only reluctantly prosecuted the war - a fact that outraged the pro-war Patriot faction who pushed for his dismissal. Walpole
1026-556: A successful writer. Her novel The Governess, or The Little Female Academy (1749) is thought to be the first in English aimed expressly at children. Fielding married Charlotte Craddock in 1734 at the Church of St Mary in Charlcombe , Somerset. She died in 1744, and he later modelled the heroines of Tom Jones and of Amelia on her. They had five children; their only daughter Henrietta died at
1083-627: A treatise rejecting deistic and materialistic visions of the world in favour of belief in God's presence and divine judgement, arguing that the murder rate was rising due to neglect of the Christian religion. In 1753 he wrote Proposals for Making an Effectual Provision for the Poor . Fielding's humanitarian commitment to justice in the 1750s (for instance in support of Elizabeth Canning ) coincided with rapid deterioration in his health. Gout , asthma and cirrhosis of
1140-495: A wealthy benefactor, on whom Squire Allworthy in Tom Jones would be based. Allen went on to provide for the education and support of Fielding's children after the writer's death. Fielding never stopped writing political satire and satires of current arts and letters. The Tragedy of Tragedies (for which Hogarth designed the frontispiece) was, for example, quite successful as a printed play. Based on his earlier Tom Thumb , this
1197-418: A woman whom Tom rescued, in bed together. The man, however, was looking for Mrs Fitzpatrick and leaves. Sophia and her maid arrive at the same inn, and Partridge unknowingly reveals the relationship between Tom and Mrs Waters. Sophia leaves with Mrs Fitzpatrick, who is her cousin, and heads for London. They arrive at the home of Lady Bellaston, followed by Tom and Partridge. Eventually, Tom says that his true love
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#17328523198681254-424: Is angry. Blifil tells Allworthy that, on the day he almost died, Tom was out drinking and celebrating his coming death. This leads Tom to be banished. Tom's banishment seems to ensure that Sophia will be forced to marry Blifil, whom she finds odious, so she flees to avoid that fate. Meanwhile, expelled from Allworthy's estate, Tom begins his adventures across Britain, eventually ending up in London. En route, he meets
1311-404: Is evident, for example, in his presiding in 1751 over the trial of the notorious criminal James Field , finding him guilty in a robbery and sentencing him to hang. John Fielding, despite being blind by then, succeeded his older brother as chief magistrate, becoming known as the "Blind Beak of Bow Street" for his ability to recognise criminals by their voices alone. In January 1752 Fielding started
1368-400: Is for Sophia and no one else. Tom ends up getting into a duel with Mr Fitzpatrick, which leads to his imprisonment. Eventually, the secret of Tom's birth is revealed after a brief scare involving Mrs Waters. Mrs Waters is really Jenny Jones, Tom's supposed mother, and Tom fears that he committed incest . This, however, is not the case, as Tom's mother is in fact Bridget, who conceived him with
1425-619: Is seen as Fielding's debut as a serious novelist. In 1743, he published a novel in the Miscellanies volume III (which was the first volume of the Miscellanies): The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, the Great , which is sometimes counted as his first, as he almost certainly began it before he wrote Shamela and Joseph Andrews . It is a satire of Walpole equating him and Jonathan Wild , the gang leader and highwayman. He implicitly compares
1482-510: Is so excited that he gets drunk and eventually fights with Master Blifil. Meanwhile, Bridget dies in London. Wanting to conceal her love for Tom, Sophia gives a majority of her attention to Blifil when the three of them are together. This leads to Sophia's aunt, Mrs Western, believing that Sophia and Blifil are in love. Squire Western wants Sophia to marry Blifil to gain property from the Allworthy estate. Blifil learns of Sophia's affection for Tom and
1539-533: The Church of England led to his appointment a year later as Westminster's chief magistrate , while his literary career went from strength to strength. Most of his work concerned London's criminal population of thieves, informers, gamblers and prostitutes. Though living in a corrupt and callous society, he became noted for impartial judgements, incorruptibility and compassion for those whom social inequities led into crime. The income from his office ("the dirtiest money upon earth") dwindled as he refused to take money from
1596-519: The House of Hanover , while ill-natured characters (Mrs Western) or mistaken ones (Partridge) can be Jacobites , or (like Squire Western) anti-Hanoverian. Cobhamites The Cobhamite faction (often known as Cobham's Cubs ) were an 18th-century British political faction built around Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham and his supporters. Among its members, the group included the future Prime Ministers William Pitt and George Grenville . They had
1653-657: The Tory leader Sir William Wyndham , known for his Jacobite sympathies. His daughter Elizabeth later married George Grenville . The first of the younger generation to gain notoriety was William Pitt who was elected to Parliament in 1735. His elder brother Thomas Pitt for a while also sat with the group, but later broke with them. Other prominent members included Richard Grenville , George Grenville , Robert Nedham and George Lyttelton - many of whom were related to each other either by blood or by marriage. Because of their youth they were popularly known as Cobham's Cubs. Pitt made
1710-523: The Whig party in Parliament with a gang of thieves run by Walpole, whose constant desire to be a "Great Man" (a common epithet with Walpole) ought to culminate in the antithesis of greatness: hanging. Fielding's anonymous The Female Husband (1746) fictionalizes a case in which a female transvestite was tried for duping another woman into marriage; this was one of several small pamphlets costing sixpence. Though
1767-583: The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole . His patron was the opposition Whig MP George Lyttelton , a boyhood friend from Eton to whom he later dedicated Tom Jones . Lyttelton followed his leader Lord Cobham in forming a Whig opposition to Walpole's government called the Cobhamites , which included another of Fielding's Eton friends, William Pitt. In The Craftsman , Fielding voiced an opposition attack on bribery and corruption in British politics. Despite writing for
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1824-698: The United Kingdom , using his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners , London's first professional police force . Henry Fielding was born on 22 April 1707 at Sharpham Park, the seat of his mother's family in Sharpham , Somerset. He was the son of Lt.-Gen. Edmund Fielding and Sarah Gould, daughter of Sir Henry Gould. A scion of the Earl of Denbigh , his father was nephew of William Fielding, 3rd Earl of Denbigh. Educated at Eton College , Fielding began
1881-683: The Walpole government. Cobham's supporters and the other Whigs refused to become Tories, and were soon styling themselves as the 'Patriot Party' or ' Patriot Whigs '. The group was at times associated with Frederick, Prince of Wales a noted opponent of Walpole and his father, the King. The Cobham members would often pay court to Frederick at Leicester House . Walpole outraged them further by dismissing all those who held army commissions and had spoken out against him - which they considered an abuse of his powers. The group now set about attacking Walpole in an attempt to force him from office. They joined forces with
1938-436: The age of 23, having already been "in deep decline" when she married a military engineer, James Gabriel Montresor , some months before. Three years after Charlotte's death, Fielding disregarded public opinion by marrying her former maid Mary Daniel, who was pregnant. Mary bore five children: three daughters who died young, and two sons, William and Allen. Despite the scandal, Fielding's consistent anti-Jacobitism and support for
1995-548: The backdrop of the Jacobite rising of 1745 . Characters take different sides over the rebellion, which was an attempt to restore Roman Catholicism as the established religion of England and to undo the Glorious Revolution . At one point Sophia Western is even mistaken for Jenny Cameron , the supposed lover of Bonnie Prince Charlie . Good-natured characters are often moderately loyalist and Anglican , or even supporters of
2052-430: The blessings of Squire Western and Squire Allworthy. The highly visible narrator is a central feature of Tom Jones . Each book begins with a prefatory chapter directly addressing the reader, and the narrator provides a continuous commentary on characters and events. Lady Bellaston , for instance, is widely believed to have been inspired by the real life character of Etheldreda Townshend . According to Wayne C. Booth ,
2109-416: The boy, whom he names Thomas, in his household. Two brothers, Dr Blifil and Captain Blifil, regularly visit the Allworthy estate. The doctor introduces the captain to Bridget in the hope of marrying into Allworthy's wealth. The couple soon marries. After the marriage, Captain Blifil begins to show a coldness to his brother, who eventually feels obliged to leave the house for London. He does, and later dies "of
2166-482: The child. After searching the nearby village Mrs Wilkins is told about Jenny Jones, the young servant of a schoolmaster and his wife, as the most likely person to have committed the deed. Jenny is brought before the Allworthys and admits being the one who put the baby in the bed, but refuses to reveal the father's identity. Mr. Allworthy removes Jenny to a place where her reputation will be unknown and tells Bridget to raise
2223-567: The effective leaders of the party - which continued to meet at Stowe. In 1756 Pitt led the group into government once more where they were known as the 'Ministry of Cousins' because so many were related. The group then participated in the Pitt–Newcastle ministry which guided Britain to victory in the Seven Years' War . In October 1761 annoyed at the growing influence of Lord Bute in the cabinet, and frustrated by his colleagues' refusal to launch
2280-515: The eighteenth century. Henry Fielding would construct "the non-ironic pseudonym such as Addison and Steele used in the Spectator, and the ironic mask or Persona , such as Swift used in A Modest Proposal." The Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 is said to be a direct response to his activities in writing for the theatre. Although the play that triggered the act was the unproduced, anonymously authored The Golden Rump , Fielding's dramatic satires had set
2337-457: The government in the House of Lords . In 1730s he had begun to grow gradually disenchanted with Walpole, coming to a head when he opposed a proposed Excise Bill in 1733 forcing Walpole to withdraw the Bill. Walpole punished him by removing Cobham's command of his regiment. This prompted Cobham to break entirely from his support of Walpole, and he now crossed to join the Opposition. He began to gather
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2394-507: The liver left him on crutches, and with other afflictions sent him to Portugal in 1754 to seek a cure, only to die two months later in Lisbon , reportedly in pain and mental distress. His tomb there is in the British Cemetery ( Cemitério Inglês ), the graveyard of St. George's Church, Lisbon . Further Adaptations The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling The History of Tom Jones,
2451-578: The opposition to Walpole, which included Tories as well as Whigs, Fielding was "unshakably a Whig " and often praised Whig heroes such as the Duke of Marlborough and Gilbert Burnet . Fielding dedicated his play Don Quixote in England to the opposition Whig leader Lord Chesterfield . It appeared on 17 April 1734, the same day writs were issued for the general election . He dedicated his 1735 play The Universal Gallant to Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough ,
2508-573: The policies pursued by the Pelhams, and in 1755 they opposed and attacked a government measure regarding a Treaty with Russia , leading to Grenville and Pitt being dismissed and returning to opposition where they continued to attack the Newcastle government. In 1749 Cobham had died, and the cohesiveness of the group was threatened by the fact that some of his followers were still in government while others were in opposition. Pitt and George Grenville emerged as
2565-622: The reader's relationship with the narrator is something like a subplot. The reader becomes more attached to the narrator over the course of the book, culminating in a heartfelt farewell. Fielding presents a panorama of contemporary British life, drawing characters from many different classes and occupations. But Ian Watt argues in The Rise of the Novel that Fielding did not aim at the "realism of presentation" of lifelike detail and psychology practised by authors such as Richardson . Watt claims that Fielding
2622-416: The road and in London. It triumphs as a presentation of English life and character in the mid-18th century. Every social type is represented and through them every shade of moral behaviour. Fielding's varied style tempers the basic seriousness of the novel and his authorial comment before each chapter adds a dimension to a conventional, straightforward narrative. Fielding's younger sister, Sarah , also became
2679-533: The satirical paper The Champion , which was sharply critical of Walpole's government and of pro-government literary and political writers. He sought to evade libel charges by making its political attacks so funny or embarrassing to the victim that a publicized court case would seem even worse. He later became chief writer for the Whig government of Henry Pelham . Fielding took to novel writing in 1741, angered by Samuel Richardson 's success with Pamela . His first success
2736-539: The servants and gamekeepers than with members of the gentry. He is close friends with Black George, who is the gamekeeper. His first love is Molly, Black George's second daughter. She throws herself at Tom, who then feels obliged to offer her his protection after learning that she is pregnant. However, Tom later realizes that Molly is somewhat promiscuous. He then falls in love with a neighbouring squire's daughter, Sophia Western. Tom and Sophia confess their love for each other after he breaks his arm rescuing her. Tom's status as
2793-767: The ten best novels of the world. The novel is highly organised despite its length. Samuel Taylor Coleridge argued that it has one of the "three most perfect plots ever planned," alongside Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles and The Alchemist by Ben Jonson . It became a best seller with four editions published in its first year alone. It is generally regarded as Fielding's greatest book and as an influential English novel. The wealthy Squire Allworthy and his sister Bridget are introduced in their estate in Somerset . Allworthy returns from London after an extended business trip and finds an abandoned baby sleeping in his bed. He summons his housekeeper, Mrs Deborah Wilkins, to take care of
2850-492: The tone. Once it was passed, political satire on stage became all but impossible. Fielding retired from the theatre and resumed his legal career to support his wife Charlotte Craddock and two children by becoming a barrister , joining the Middle Temple in 1737 and being called to the bar there in 1740. Fielding's lack of financial acumen meant the family often endured periods of poverty, but they were helped by Ralph Allen ,
2907-568: The very poor. Joined by his younger half-brother John , he helped found what some call London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners , in 1749. According to the historian G. M. Trevelyan , the Fieldings were two of the best magistrates in 18th-century London, who did much to enhance judicial reform and improve prison conditions. Fielding's influential pamphlets and enquiries included a proposal for abolishing public hangings. This did not, however, imply opposition to capital punishment as such – as
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#17328523198682964-508: The war which they felt placed too much emphasis on fighting in Germany and not enough in waging war with Spain in the Americas. In 1744 they played a part in the end of Carteret's government, to be replaced one led by Henry Pelham and his brother the Duke of Newcastle . A large number of Cobham's supporters then went to join the new government. Despite having orchestrated the deal, Pitt didn't take
3021-477: Was an anonymous parody of that novel, called Shamela . This follows the model of Tory satirists of the previous generation, notably Swift and Gay. Fielding followed this with Joseph Andrews (1742), an original work supposedly dealing with Pamela's brother, Joseph. His purpose, however, was more than parody, for as stated in the preface, he intended a "kind of writing which I do not remember to have seen hitherto attempted in our language." In what Fielding called
3078-461: Was another of Fielding's irregular plays published under the name of H. Scriblerus Secundus, a pseudonym intended to link himself ideally with the Scriblerus Club of literary satirists founded by Jonathan Swift , Alexander Pope and John Gay . He also contributed several works to journals. From 1734 to 1739, Fielding wrote anonymously for the leading Tory periodical, The Craftsman , against
3135-465: Was finally forced into resignation in the wake of the disastrous Siege of Cartagena and only winning a narrow majority in the 1741 general election . Having helped to bring Walpole down in 1742 with their fierce attacks on his mishandling of the war with Spain , the group were equally opposed to the government that followed it, headed officially by Lord Wilmington but in fact led by Lord Carteret . They attacked him, also for his strategic control of
3192-729: Was more focused on the "realism of assessment," the way in which the novel engages a broad range of topics with intelligence and "a wise assessment of life." The main theme of the novel is the contrast between Tom Jones's good nature, flawed but eventually corrected by his love for virtuous Sophia Western, and his half-brother Blifil's hypocrisy . Secondary themes include several other examples of virtue (especially that of Squire Allworthy), hypocrisy (especially that of Thwackum) and villainy (for example, that of Mrs Western and Ensign Northerton), sometimes tempered by repentance (for instance Square and Mrs Waters née Jones). Both introductory chapters to each book and interspersed commentary introduce
3249-450: Was on her way to church. He fled to avoid prosecution. In 1728, Fielding travelled to Leiden to study classics and law at the university. However, penury forced him back to London, where he began writing for the theatre. Some of his work savagely criticised the government of Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole . According to George R. Levine, Henry Fielding, in his first writings used two forms of "rhetorical poses" that were popular during
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