39 h 21 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 39 h 21 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a warm heart counts for less than a spotless reputation?
A baby appears in Squire Allworthy’s bed at Paradise Hall. Raised by the generous landowner, Tom Jones grows into a brave, warm-hearted young man whose impulses keep landing him in trouble. Alongside him grows Master Blifil, careful about his public manners—and about what Allworthy hears.
Tom loves Sophia Western, a clever, kind young woman who refuses an unwanted marriage. But Blifil wants Sophia and the estate, while her father insists on choosing her husband. Henry Fielding carries this comic struggle through country houses, roadside inns and London, asking how anyone can judge goodness beneath appearances.
What you’ll discover
- A heart worth questioning Follow Tom’s generous impulses and reckless choices as he learns that kindness also needs care.
- Sophia stands her ground Meet a woman whose love for Tom does not mean surrendering her own choice.
- Good manners, hidden schemes Watch Blifil cultivate respectability while pursuing Sophia and the estate for himself.
- A narrator with opinions Enjoy a storyteller who speaks directly to you, argues, teases and pauses to reflect.
- England beyond the country house Travel among squires, tutors, maids, landladies and rogues in a broad, bustling social comedy.
Who will love it
Readers who love warm-hearted comedy, sprawling casts and a chatty narrator will enjoy this novel. It also suits lovers of romance, social satire and flawed heroes who remain easy to cheer for.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A baby in the bed starts everything
- Two brothers chase a fortune through Bridget
- Two boys and two tutors grow up together
- Sophia enters and Tom's heart wanders
- A fight and a fall bring Tom's banishment
- The road and the inns scatter the lovers
- London tempts Tom and tests his friends
- Goodness needs prudence to survive
- Class, birth and hypocrisy are the targets
- A talkative narrator and a three part design
Who’s who
- Tom JonesA foundling raised by Squire Allworthy, he is generous and reckless, and he wants to win Sophia and the respect of the man who raised him.
- Sophia WesternThe lively, sensible daughter of a hunting squire, she loves Tom but will not marry against her father without a fight.
- Squire AllworthyA wealthy, benevolent Somerset landowner who takes in Tom and tries to judge everyone fairly, though he can be fooled.
- Master BlifilAllworthy's nephew and Tom's rival, he is sober and sly, and he wants the estate, the squire's favor and Sophia.
- Squire WesternSophia's loud, fox-hunting father, who adores her but is set on marrying her to a neighbor's heir.
- PartridgeA talkative barber and former schoolmaster who attaches himself to Tom and follows him on the road, afraid of ghosts and fond of food.
- Lady BellastonA rich London lady of fashion who shelters Sophia, takes Tom up, and wants to keep both under her control.
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
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Histoire de Tom Jones, enfant trouvé
by Henry Fielding · 1749
A baby lies in Squire Allworthy's bed, and the boy's loving heart keeps landing him in trouble.
ChallengingOver 20 hours to readfrançais
Excellent
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In short
Picture coming home after three months in London, tired and ready for bed, and finding a baby asleep between your sheets. That is how The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling begins.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A baby in the bed starts everything
Squire Allworthy comes home late from London, kneels to pray as he always does, and finds a sleeping baby wrapped in coarse linen. His housekeeper, Mrs Deborah Wilkins, is more shocked at seeing her master in his shirt than at the child itself. She wants the infant left at the churchwarden's door. Allworthy refuses. He will raise the boy as his own.
The search for the mother ends with Jenny Jones, a servant who learned Latin and dared to wear a silk gown to church. She confesses but will not name the father. Allworthy lectures her gravely, then sends her somewhere nobody knows her, so that she can begin again. The village turns on him instead, and gossip says the squire himself is the father.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1749
- Language
- français
- Reading time
- 25 h 35 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Fielding, Henry. History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/history-of-tom-jones-a-foundling.
Fielding, H. (2026). History of Tom Jones, a foundling. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/history-of-tom-jones-a-foundling (Original work published 1749)
Fielding, Henry. History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/history-of-tom-jones-a-foundling.
@book{fielding2026history,
author = {Fielding, Henry},
title = {History of Tom Jones, a Foundling},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/history-of-tom-jones-a-foundling},
note = {First published 1749}
}
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What is Tom Jones about?
It tells the story of a foundling raised by a kind Somerset squire, his love for the neighbor's daughter Sophia Western, and the adventures that follow when he is sent away. It mixes comedy, romance, travel and social satire.
Who is Tom Jones in the novel?
Tom is a baby found in Squire Allworthy's bed and raised in his house. He grows into a handsome, kind-hearted young man whose recklessness gets him into trouble, and who loves Sophia Western above all.
When was Tom Jones written and is it a true story?
Henry Fielding wrote it in the mid-eighteenth century. It is fiction, but it draws on real settings such as Somerset, country inns and London, and on the Jacobite rising that provides a background for the road scenes.
The author
Henry Fielding
1707–1754 · English novelist and playwright
Henry Fielding (1707–1754) was an English novelist and dramatist. He was born in Somerset and lived and worked in London, where he also served as a magistrate. He wrote Jonathan Wild (1743), Tom Jones (1749), and Amelia (1751). He travelled to Portugal in 1754 and died in Lisbon that year.
More by Henry Fielding
Voir tous ses livresMore like this
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