Story summary
Résumé de Histoire de la vie de feu M. Jonathan Wild le Grand
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Jonathan Wild robs, betrays and hangs his friends, and his narrator calls every act greatness.
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Histoire de la vie de feu M. Jonathan Wild le Grand in short
The story follows Jonathan Wild from his sticky-fingered birth through school, gambling dens and the founding of a gang, to the ruin of an honest friend. The narrator calls all of it greatness, and Fielding means the reader to hear the opposite. A great man, in Wild's theory, employs other hands, takes the largest share, and calls it honor.
What Histoire de la vie de feu M. Jonathan Wild le Grand is about
What if a thief and betrayer were praised on every page as a great man? That is the trick at the heart of The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great, written by Henry Fielding in the eighteenth century. The narrator is a solemn admirer. He tells you that greatness means doing harm to mankind, and that goodness is a weakness.
Jonathan Wild was a real London criminal, but Fielding aims at larger targets: conquerors, ministers and men of power. You follow Wild from the cradle toward Newgate prison, and you laugh at every theft the narrator cheers.
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?. This book is for readers who love sharp irony, eighteenth century London, rogues and gangs, and a narrator who praises the worst of men with a straight face.
The story in 10 parts
Key idea 1 · free to read
Greatness means harm, goodness means weakness
The book opens with a promise to teach by example. The narrator says the lives of great men are the essence of history. Then he springs his trap.
Greatness, he says, consists in bringing harm upon mankind, while goodness consists in relieving it. He scolds older writers for praising Alexander and Caesar as kind, because mercy only spoils the consistency of a conqueror. His hero has just enough goodness to stay human, and so little that he earns the title the Great.
The second chapter mocks the family tree. One ancestor is a little deaf at a feast of murder and mistakes the signal for swords as a signal for purses. Another is hanged for his skill with purses. Even Wild's aunts are named Grace, Charity and Honour, and their lives mock those names.
The takeaway: the narrator's praise means the opposite, so read every compliment as a charge.
- 2Start free to read
A boy born to steal and be bribed
Chapter three gives Wild an omen-filled birth, as a hero should have.
- 3Start free to read
Count La Ruse argues that statesmen and thieves are alike
At seventeen Wild is brought to London.
- 4Start free to read
Honor becomes a word that means nothing
The count is set free with Wild's help.
- 5Start free to read
Greatness is employing other people's hands
Small gains no longer satisfy Wild.
- 6Start free to read
Heartfree, the good man who trusts too much
The second book brings in the foil.
- 7Start free to read
Cheaters cheated and a rival hanged
Wild collects the booty and goes courting.
- 8Start free to read
Heartfree is ruined and his wife is sent away
Heartfree's troubles start when the count's note comes back unpaid.
- 9Start free to read
Conscience against ambition: what the story is about
The book's first great theme is the gap between greatness and goodness.
- 10Start free to read
How Fielding tells it: irony, digression and mock epic
The voice is the main device.
Read all 10 key ideas now
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Characters, plot and themes
Main characters
- Jonathan Wild A thief with a gift for scheming who wants to rule a gang and believes that greatness means harming others for his own gain.
- Thomas Heartfree A kind and trusting jeweller who wants only to care for his wife and children and keep a clear conscience.
- Mrs. Heartfree His loving wife, who believes Wild is her husband's friend and wants only to save him from ruin.
- Count La Ruse A gambler and cheat who befriends Wild and wants to win money by fraud and flight.
- Laetitia Snap The bailiff's daughter, vain and greedy, who agrees to marry Wild for convenience and takes lovers of her own.
- Fireblood A bold, shameless young gang associate who works for Wild and hopes to gain through him.
- Bob Bagshot A tall, foolish highwayman who carries out Wild's plans and wants his fair share of the loot.
- Friendly Heartfree's loyal apprentice, who stays beside his master and wants to clear his name.
How it ends (spoiler)
Wild's rule over Newgate ends when he is tried and sentenced to death. His wife visits and curses him, and the ordinary of the prison fails to move him. On the day of execution he takes laudanum, but it does not work. He steals the chaplain's corkscrew on the cart and is hanged. Heartfree is reprieved after Fireblood confesses, Mrs. Heartfree returns, and the family prospers.
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Questions about Histoire de la vie de feu M. Jonathan Wild le Grand
What is Jonathan Wild the Great about?
It follows a thief and gang leader from birth to Newgate prison. The narrator praises each betrayal as greatness, and the contrast with an honest jeweller named Heartfree makes Fielding's attack on ambition and power clear.
Was Jonathan Wild a real person?
Yes. Jonathan Wild was a real London criminal who ran a gang and also posed as a thief taker. Fielding uses his name and a few facts, but the plot and many characters are invented to serve the satire.
Why does the narrator call Wild great?
The narrator defines greatness as doing harm and goodness as weakness. By praising Wild on those terms, Fielding means the reader to hear the irony and compare criminals with conquerors and ministers who are also called great.
Who is Heartfree and why does he matter?
Thomas Heartfree is an honest jeweller and Wild's old schoolfellow. His kindness and clear conscience stand against Wild's scheming, and the story's moral weight rests on how he behaves when his friend betrays him.
Is Jonathan Wild the Great easy to read?
It is approachable because the story moves quickly through scenes of gambling, robbery and sea adventure. The narrator is witty and the chapters are short, and the irony makes each page lively and easy to follow.
Cite this edition
Fielding, Henry. The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-history-of-the-life-of-the-late-mr-jonathan-wild-the-great.
Fielding, H. (2026). The history of the life of the late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-history-of-the-life-of-the-late-mr-jonathan-wild-the-great (Original work published 1743)
Fielding, Henry. The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-history-of-the-life-of-the-late-mr-jonathan-wild-the-great.
@book{fielding2026history,
author = {Fielding, Henry},
title = {The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-history-of-the-life-of-the-late-mr-jonathan-wild-the-great},
note = {First published 1743}
}
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