Henry Fielding (1707–1754)

"It is much easier to make good men wise, than to make bad men good."

The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, as the title suggest is about the life of Tom Jones, the main character, and in truth it is an early rom-com. As a baby, Tom Jones was left to the care of Squire Allworthy, a prominent and wealthy landowner in Somerset. Despite his inauspicious start in life Tom was raised by the Squire and his sister, Bridget, as though he was part of their family.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Blifil begins courting Bridget and eventually, they are married and have a son, William. The novel highlights the contrasting personas of Tom and William Blifil. On one hand, Tom is crude and unrefined but has a heart of gold, whereas Blifil is cultured but is greedy and calculating. Bilfil tries to discredit Tom's with the latter's love interest, Sophia Western and marry her himself but is only interested in the fortune that she would bring to any marriage.

The novel is also packed with minor characters who explore different human virtues: kindness and wickedness, greed and honesty, justice and injustice. There are the good Samaritans, bullies, shady characters, the greedy and the generous, loyal and disloyal, promiscuous women and gossip mongers. Throughout, there is Tom, who is both perfect and flawed at the same time. The novel also explores the position of women in 18th-century Britain and their general lack of power.

Despite its length it has a very straightforward plot. The novel is divided into 18 smaller books, with each book having an introductory chapter, as well as commentaries scattered throughout the book. Although the truth and mystery shrouding Tom's birth was promised early on in the novel it isn't revealed until its climax and it took me totally by surprise. The ending has the feel of fairy tale to it because “they all lived happily ever after.”

Overall, 'Tom Jones' is a lengthy but relatively light read. It is straightforward and easier to understand than some classics and made me smile at times. I particularly liked Squire Western's character whom I found rather comical however, I also found it a little repetitive at times, hence my rating, but I'm glad that I've finally read it.… (more)

Well-bred bastard Tom Jones travels across England, encounters a cross-section of humanity, and sleeps with half the women he meets.

Tom Jones is a great novel. Not for its characters (which are cardboard), not for its plot (which spins with great and soulless efficiency), and not for its themes (which are a grab-bag of universal homilies). Tom Jones is great because it has a great narrator: an omniscient, disembodied voice that boasts and preens, condescends and mocks. No high-falutin conceit can appear without the narrator troubling himself to explain things to his groundling readers in single-syllable words. No villain can appear on stage without the narrator taking the opportunity to undiegetically jab his personal enemies. The narrator elides the boring parts and cheerfully notes when he is doing so. The narrator advertises his favorites among the cast and compliments himself on his own cleverness at every plot twist. In short, Tom Jones has the finest narrator I've read since Middlemarch. (Although Middlemarch's narrator likely wins that particular steel-cage match, as Middlemarch used its omniscient narrator to a greater purpose, whereas Tom Jones' highest intention is untrammeled glee.)

Henry Fielding (who should not be confused with the narrating author, as the narrator is too much a self-conscious construction) clearly takes his inspiration from the stage, right down to the Shakespearean mix of aristocratic and groundling humor. In Tom Jones, the Latin epigrams are scattered among scenes of bawdy slapstick. Theatre and actors make repeated appearances in the text, from an evangelical Punch and Judy show to a performance of Hamlet attended by Tom Jones and his superstitious servant. The narrator uses the text as his podium to inveigh against dramatic critics and stupid narrative conventions. In many ways, Tom Jones would seem to be easily adapted to the stage -- all plot points are conveyed through dialogue; characters have no internal existence -- but for one thing: the narrator, who is so tightly (yet invisibly) entwined in everything that happens. Unless he played the Greek chorus?… (more)