Publisher's Synopsis
Henry Fielding's 1749 novel is about much more than the wild comic adventures of a highly fallible foundling and his guardian; Reilly argues that "Tom Jones" represents Fielding's strongest critique of rival novelist Samuel Richardson, and his complex elaboration of the Gospel parable of the two sons. Carefully reading the entertaining text of "Tom Jones", Reilly argues that Fielding's comic vision is completely grounded in Christianity, and that the novel's shape, characters and events were carefully planned to deliver a profound moral message. As a correctionist novel - one created in heated opposition to contemporary styles - "Tom Jones" is full of innovations and is in fact the source of two major traditions in English language fiction.
