Who Was Henry Fielding?

Henry Fielding was born in 1707 in Somerset, England. He was a novelist and a famous playwright. His literary career began with comedic productions. These include Rape upon Rape and The Tragedy of Tom Thumb. The plays of Henry Fielding always had a political element,  which often upset the local government authorities and many of his productions were closed down soon after opening under the Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737.

Henry Fielding made local government his career, serving as a magistrate. He continued his writing however, and switching his chosen genre regularly. he was an avid writer of both drama to prose, and was equally successful in both. He also wrote satirical pieces for journals under pseudonyms to protect his magistrate's position.

Henry Fielding wrote the classic Tom Jones which he claimed was his version of Don Quixote, with many parallels in the text and the character´s behaviour.  His style was unusual for the time as he often conversed with the reader, letting the author´s voice show through the narrative. Tom Jones was turned into a successful film in the 1960s.

Henry Fielding was a British writer, playwright, journalist and English novelist. His objective as a novelist was to write comic epic poems in prose. He was founder of English Realistic School in Literature. He was born at Sharpham Park, Somerset in 1707. Fielding started his career in London and in 1728 he wrote two plays, of which "Love In Several Mosques" was successful. Later on, he dedicated himself as stage writer. In 1730 he wrote four plays and Tom Thumb was most popular among them. Fielding always wrote political satire and sharp burlesques. He became editor of the magazine "Champion". In 1734, he married with Charlotte Cradock and after her death in 1744; he married with his wife's maid Mary Daniel in 1747. In 1740, he was called to the bar after the study of law. Later on, he suffered from gout and asthma, he discontinued his legal practice. His first novel "Shamela" was parody of Richardson's novel "Pamela". He kept this satirical mode with "Joseph Andrews" (1742). "The Female Husband" (1746) was an imaginary tale of a strange case of a woman's desire to marry with another. His major work "Tom Jones" (1749) was a picaresque novel, a tale of a foundling. "Amelia" (1751) was his last novel. Henry Fielding died on 8th, October, 1754. His travel book "The Journal Of A Voyage To Lisban" published in 1755, after his death.