The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
About this audiobook
Henry Fielding’s bawdy, colorful, high-spirited novel painted human vices and virtues with unprecedented honesty and good humor, making Tom Jones as fresh and entertaining today as it was when first published nearly three hundred years ago.
A foundling of mysterious parentage, Tom Jones is brought up by the benevolent and wealthy Squire Allworthy as his own son.
As a young man, Tom falls in love with the beautiful and unattainable Sophia Western, a neighbor’s daughter, whose marriage has already been arranged. When Tom’s sexual misadventures around the countryside get him banished, he sets out to make his fortune and find his true identity. Against the vivid background of eighteenth-century London, Tom Jones encounters passion, corruption, danger, and intrigue before finally claiming his fortune, legitimacy, and true love.
About the author
Henry Fielding (1707-1754) started his career as a playwright until his outspoken satirical plays so annoyed Walpole's Government that a new Licensing Act was introduced to drive him from the stage. He turned to writing various 'comic epics in prose', including Shamela and Tom Jones. A master innovator, he is credited with creating the first modern novels in English. He was also a magistrate and co-founder of the Bow Street Runners, often dubbed as London's first professional police force.
