18 h 7 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the friend you trust most sees your kindness as his surest way to wealth?
In Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom, a poor-born swindler turns charm into a livelihood. Moving through Europe and England, Ferdinand Fathom poses as a nobleman and studies the trust of strangers. Gambling tables, inns and courts offer fresh chances to win money and comfort at someone else’s expense.
Among those who trust him is Renaldo, Count Melvil, an honest young nobleman whose generosity makes him an inviting target. Smollett places real honour beside calculated deceit, asking what happens when good faith meets a man without conscience. This dark adventure uses sharp satire to expose fraud, vanity and the hunger for success.
What you’ll discover
- Charm with a purpose Watch Fathom turn polished manners and a borrowed title into tools for exploitation.
- An honest friend's trust Meet Renaldo, whose open heart leaves him exposed to a calculating companion.
- A world of opportunities Travel through European cities where gambling tables, inns and courts give deception room to flourish.
- Satire with sharp edges Explore a society where reputation and ambition give a persuasive cheat his opening.
- Vice in plain sight Follow a villain rather than a lovable rogue, and confront the human cost of fraud.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy rogues and swindlers, sharp satire of high society, and eighteenth century adventure that swings from comic brawls to tender romance.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A soldier's wagon gives Fathom his start
- A charming boy learns to deceive his protectors
- With a maid as partner, he turns to theft
- In Vienna he plays two women against each other
- A forest of thieves teaches him no lesson
- Paris and London reward his false nobility
- His luck fails and an old friend comes to his aid
- The book warns that charm is not character
- A loud narrator mixes laughter with sentiment
Who’s who
- Ferdinand FathomA charming, selfish adventurer born in a wagon who lies and steals his way up through society and wants wealth and pleasure above all.
- Renaldo de MelvilThe honest, hot tempered son of Fathom's patron, who trusts his friend and wants to marry the woman he loves.
- Count MelvilA kind Scottish colonel in the Austrian army whose life Fathom's mother saves and who takes the boy under his protection in gratitude.
- TeresaA clever maid who becomes Fathom's first partner in theft and hopes to share his fortune.
- RatchcaliA gambler from the Tyrol and Fathom's partner and rival, always ready to cheat the cheater.
- MonimiaA beautiful, proud and devout orphan who loves Renaldo.
- Don Diego de ZelosA Spanish nobleman in disguise, haunted by a terrible act done in the name of honor.
- Madam ClementA warm hearted merchant's widow in London.
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The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete
by Tobias Smollett · 1753
A camp follower's son with no known father cheats his way from Hungary to the drawing rooms of London.
Challenging10–20 hours to readItaliano
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In short
A boy is born in a wagon between Holland and Flanders, and no man can claim to be his father. Tobias Smollett makes this child the hero of The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom and says plainly that he will serve as a warning.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A soldier's wagon gives Fathom his start
The story begins with Ferdinand Fathom born in a wagon on the road between Holland and Flanders. His mother is an Englishwoman who follows the army of the Duke of Marlborough, selling gin and clean linen to the soldiers. She has so many admirers that she cannot name the father.
She marries a German trooper and gives the boy his name, which becomes Fadom. She then follows Prince Eugene into Hungary, where she robs the wounded after battle. One victim cries out in English. He is Count Melvil, a Scottish colonel, and she saves him because she sees profit in his gratitude.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 7 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1753
- Language
- Italiano
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count-fathom-complete.
Smollett, T. (2026). The adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count-fathom-complete (Original work published 1753)
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count-fathom-complete.
@book{smollett2026adventures,
author = {Smollett, Tobias},
title = {The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-ferdinand-count-fathom-complete},
note = {First published 1753}
}
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What is The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom about?
It follows Ferdinand Fathom, a charming con man born in an army wagon, as he cheats his way through Hungary, Vienna, Paris and London while his honest friend Renaldo and the orphan Monimia become his chief targets.
Who wrote Count Fathom and when?
It is written by Tobias Smollett. The story takes place in the eighteenth century.
Why is Fathom the hero of the book?
Smollett says in his dedication that he picks a villain as the central figure on purpose. Showing vice defeated is meant to warn the inexperienced, while a virtuous character is set against him for contrast.
The author
Tobias Smollett
Scottish novelist
T. Smollett — Tobias Smollett — was a Scottish novelist whose service as a naval surgeon fed directly into his fiction. The Adventures of Roderick Random, his first novel, follows a rough-and-tumble young Scot through shipwrecks, swindles, and the brutal world of the Royal Navy.
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