The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
His greatest work was "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling" (1749), a meticulously constructed comic novel with elements of the picaresque novel and the Bildungsroman, telling the convoluted and hilarious tale of how a foundling came into a fortune. The plot of "Tom Jones" is too ingenious for simple summary; its basis is Tom's alienation from his foster father, Squire Allworthy, and his sweetheart, Sophia Western, and his reconciliation with them after lively and dangerous adventures on the road and in London. The triumph is its presentation of English life and character in the mid-18th century. Every social type is represented, and through them every shade of moral behaviour. Fielding's varied style tempers the basic seriousness of the novel and his authorial comment before each chapter adds a marked dimension to a conventionally straightforward narrative.