The English author and magistrate Henry Fielding (1707-1754) was one of the great novelists of the 18th century. His fiction, plays, essays, and legal pamphlets show he was a humane and witty man, with a passion for reform and justice. The English...

There are many ways, many forms, in which novelists attempt to give their readers what Henry Fielding in Tom Jones (1749) refers to as "a Representation, or, as Aristotle calls it, an Imitation of what really exists. . . ." Fielding is best remembered...

There are many ways, many forms, in which novelists attempt to give their readers what Henry Fielding in Tom Jones (1749) refers to as "a Representation, or, as Aristotle calls it, an Imitation of what really exists...." Fielding is best remembered...

Today is Sunday, April 22, the 112th day of 2007. There are 253 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims.On this date:In 1509, Henry VIII became king of...

BECOMING JANERunning Time 120 minutesWritten by Kevin Hood and Sarah WilliamsDirected by Julian JarroldStarring Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, James Cromwell Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane, from a screenplay by Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams, has been admirably intended as a tribute to Jane Austen...

In the following excerpt, McKeon examines the representation of truth and the foundation of knowledge in Fielding's fiction, especially Jonathan Wild and Joseph Andrews. McKeon's book is an early and important major revision of Ian Watt's history of the eighteenth-century novel, The Rise of the Novel; in this chapter and throughout the book, McKeon emphasizes both cultural and philosophical movements as essential context for analyzing the development of this generic form.

In the following essay, noted scholar and Fielding editor Sheridan Baker offers a thorough account of Fielding's approach to quixotic comedy in both his drama and his fiction. Calling the theater "Fielding's apprenticeship," Baker demonstrates that Fielding's early comic plays provided the groundwork for his didactic use of comedy in the novel.

In this chapter from her book Natural Masques: Gender and Identity in Fielding's Plays and Novels, Campbell argues that Joseph Andrews not only compels us to examine assumptions about gender roles but also demonstrates the potential of the novel as a new genre to offer new modes of characterization.

Essay provides a description of Henry Fielding.