Romance

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The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

By Henry Fielding

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Length37h 14m

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"The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" is a 1749 novel by Henry Fielding. It has been hailed as one of the great comic novels of English literature and Fielding’s masterpiece. The novel is divided into eighteen books and aims to explore human nature, covering a wide variety of social themes and literary styles. A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" is one of the most ambitious comic novels in English literature.

Satire Coming of Age Found Family Journey Adventure Family Hidden Identity Betrayal

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 3.9 (74.8K)

Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph

GenreRomance, Literary Classics, Mystery and Thriller

Length37 hrs 14 mins

Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices

FormateBook with Audio

Publish dateMay 24, 2020

LanguageEnglish

1To The Honourable George Lyttleton, Esq

2BOOK 1

3Chapter 1. The Introduction To The Work, Or Bill Of Fare To The Feast

4Chapter 2. A Short Description Of Squire Allworthy, And A Fuller Account Of Miss Bridget Allworthy, His Sister

5Chapter 3. An Odd Accident Which Befel Mr Allworthy At His Return Home. The Decent Behaviour Of Mrs Deborah Wilkins, With Some Proper Animadversions On Bastards

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6Chapter 4. The Reader's Neck Brought Into Danger By A Description; His Escape; And The Great Condescension Of Miss Bridget Allworthy

7Chapter 5. Containing A Few Common Matters, With A Very Uncommon Observation Upon Them

8Chapter 6. Mrs Deborah Is Introduced Into The Parish With A Simile. A Short Account Of Jenny Jones, With The Difficulties And Discouragements Which May Attend Young Women In The Pursuit Of Learning

9Chapter 7. Containing Such Grave Matter, That The Reader Cannot Laugh Once Through The Whole Chapter, Unless Peradventure He Should Laugh At The Author

10Chapter 8. A Dialogue Between Mesdames Bridget And Deborah; Containing More Amusement, But Less Instruction, Than The Former

11Chapter 9. Containing Matters Which Will Surprize The Reader

12Chapter 10. The Hospitality Of Allworthy; With A Short Sketch Of The Characters Of Two Brothers, A Doctor And A Captain, Who Were Entertained By That Gentleman

13Chapter 11. Containing Many Rules, And Some Examples, Concerning Falling In Love: Descriptions Of Beauty, And Other More Prudential Inducements To Matrimony

14Chapter 12. Containing What The Reader May, Perhaps, Expect To Find In It

15Chapter 13. Which Concludes The First Book; With An Instance Of Ingratitude, Which, We Hope, Will Appear Unnatural

16BOOK 2

17Chapter 1. Showing What Kind Of A History This Is; What It Is Like, And What It Is Not Like

18Chapter 2. Religious Cautions Against Showing Too Much Favour To Bastards; And A Great Discovery Made By Mrs Deborah Wilkins

19Chapter 3. The Description Of A Domestic Government Founded Upon Rules Directly Contrary To Those Of Aristotle

20Chapter 4. Containing One Of The Most Bloody Battles, Or Rather Duels, That Were Ever Recorded In Domestic History

21Chapter 5. Containing Much Matter To Exercise The Judgment And Reflection Of The Reader

22Chapter 6. The Trial Of Partridge, The Schoolmaster, For Incontinency; The Evidence Of His Wife; A Short Reflection On The Wisdom Of Our Law; With Other Grave Matters, Which Those Will Like Best Who Understand Them Most.

23Chapter 7. A Short Sketch Of That Felicity Which Prudent Couples May Extract From Hatred: With A Short Apology For Those People Who Overlook Imperfections In Their Friends

24Chapter 8. A Receipt To Regain The Lost Affections Of A Wife, Which Hath Never Been Known To Fail In The Most Desperate Cases

25Chapter 9. A Proof Of The Infallibility Of The Foregoing Receipt, In The Lamentations Of The Widow; With Other Suitable Decorations Of Death, Such As Physicians, &C., And An Epitaph In The True Stile

26BOOK 3

27Chapter 1. Containing Little Or Nothing

28Chapter 2. The Heroe Of This Great History Appears With Very Bad Omens. A Little Tale Of So Low A Kind That Some May Think It Not Worth Their Notice. A Word Or Two Concerning A Squire, And More Relating To A Gamekeeper And A Schoolmaster

29Chapter 3. The Character Of Mr Square The Philosopher, And Of Mr Thwackum The Divine; With A Dispute Concerning——

30Chapter 4. Containing A Necessary Apology For The Author; And A Childish Incident, Which Perhaps Requires An Apology Likewise

31Chapter 5. The Opinions Of The Divine And The Philosopher Concerning The Two Boys; With Some Reasons For Their Opinions, And Other Matters

32Chapter 6. Containing A Better Reason Still For The Before-Mentioned Opinions

33Chapter 7. In Which The Author Himself Makes His Appearance On The Stage

34Chapter 8. A Childish Incident, In Which, However, Is Seen A Good-Natured Disposition In Tom Jones

35Chapter 9. Containing An Incident Of A More Heinous Kind, With The Comments Of Thwackum And Square

36Chapter 10. In Which Master Blifil And Jones Appear In Different Lights

37BOOK 4

38Chapter 1. Containing Five Pages Of Paper

39Chapter 2. A Short Hint Of What We Can Do In The Sublime, And A Description Of Miss Sophia Western

40Chapter 3. Wherein The History Goes Back To Commemorate A Trifling Incident That Happened Some Years Since; But Which, Trifling As It Was, Had Some Future Consequences

41Chapter 4. Containing Such Very Deep And Grave Matters, That Some Readers, Perhaps, May Not Relish It

42Chapter 5. Containing Matter Accommodated To Every Taste

43Chapter 6. An Apology For The Insensibility Of Mr Jones To All The Charms Of The Lovely Sophia; In Which Possibly We May, In A Considerable Degree, Lower His Character In The Estimation Of Those Men Of Wit And Gallantry Who Approve The Heroes In Most Of Our Modern Comedies

44Chapter 7. Being The Shortest Chapter In This Book

45Chapter 8. A Battle Sung By The Muse In The Homerican Style, And Which None But The Classical Reader Can Taste

46Chapter 9. Containing Matter Of No Very Peaceable Colour

47Chapter 10. A Story Told By Mr Supple, The Curate. The Penetration Of Squire Western. His Great Love For His Daughter, And The Return To It Made By Her

48Chapter 11. The Narrow Escape Of Molly Seagrim, With Some Observations For Which We Have Been Forced To Dive Pretty Deep Into Nature.

49Chapter 12. Containing Much Clearer Matters; But Which Flowed From The Same Fountain With Those In The Preceding Chapter

50Chapter 13. A Dreadful Accident Which Befel Sophia. The Gallant Behaviour Of Jones, And The More Dreadful Consequence Of That Behaviour To The Young Lady; With A Short Digression In Favour Of The Female Sex. —