Henry Fielding

This concise and lucid study provides an ideal introduction to the major work of Henry Fielding for all students. Fielding''s stature as a great comic novelist is assured but as Professor Varey illustrates he was a remarkably versatile writer. In his day Fielding was one of England''s leading dramatists and also pursued a career in law. He founded edited and contributed essays for four different periodicals and wrote a political-satirical novel Jonathan Wild in addition to a work of powerful social protest Amelia and his two outstanding contributions to the development of English prose fiction: Tom Jones and Joseph Andrews. Professor Varey clarifies and explains this varied body of writing concentrating on Fielding''s technique of combining opposites or apparently ill-matched elements - of language character narrative made and even philosophical thought.