The History of Tom Jone

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 Westernthe beautiful daughter of the neighboring squireΓÇöthough 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 marriagethe adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century lifespiced with danger and intriguebawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjectionsTom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature. ΓÇó Includes a chronologysuggestions for further readingnotesglossaryand an appendix of Fielding’s revisions ΓÇó Introduction discusses narrative tecniques and themesthe context of eighteenth-century fiction and satireand the historical and political background of the Jacobite revolution For more than seventy yearsPenguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1700 titlesPenguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authorsas well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.