Henry Fielding was born in Glastonbury in Somerset in 1707. The son of a army lieutenant and a judge's daughter, he was educated at Eton School and the University of Leiden before returning to England where he wrote a series of farces, operas and light comedies.
Fielding formed his own company and was running the Little Theatre, Haymarket, when one of his satirical plays began to upset the government. The passing of the Theatrical Licensing Act in 1737 effectively ended Fielding's career as a playwright.
In 1739 Fielding turned to journalism and became editor of The Champion. He also began writing novels, including: The Adventures of Joseph Andrews (1742), Abraham Adams (1842) and Jonathan Wild (1743).
Fielding was made a justice of the peace for Westminster and Middlesex in 1748. He campaigned against legal corruption and helped his half-brother, Sir John Fielding, establish the Bow Street Runners.
In 1749 Fielding's novel, The History of Tom Jones was published to public acclaim. Critics agree that it is one of the greatest comic novels in the English language. Fielding followed this success with another well received novel, Amelia (1751).
Fielding continued as a journalist and his satirical journal, Covent Garden, continued to upset those in power. Throughout his life, Fielding suffered from poor health and by 1752 he could not move without the help of crutches. In an attempt to overcome his health problems, Henry Fielding went to live in Portugal but this was not successful and he died in Lisbon in 1754.
Selected works:
- LOVE IN SEVERAL MASQUES, 1728
- THE TRAGEDY OF TRAGEDIES: OR, THE THE LIFE AND DEATH OF TOM THUMB THE GREAT, 1730
- THE COFFEE-HOUSE POLITICIAN, 1730
- THE MODERN HUSBAND, 1732
- DON QUIXOTE IN ENGLAND, 1734
- PASQUIN, 1937
- THE HISTORICAL REGISTER, 1737
- AN APOLOGY FOR THE LIFE OF MRS. SHAMELA ANDREWS, 1741
- THE HISTORY OF THE ADVENTURES OF JOSEPH ANDREWS, 1742 - Joseph Andrews - film 1976, dir. by Tony Richardson, starring Peter Firth, Ann-Margret
- THE HISTORY OF MR. JONATHAN WILD THE GREAT, 1743
- A JOURNEY FROM THIS WORLD TO THE NEXT, 1743
- THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES, A FOUNDLING, 1749 - Tom Jones - film 1963. dir. by Tony Richardson, written by John Osborne, starring Albert Finney, Susannah York
- AMELIA, 1751
- PROPOSAL FOR MAKING EFFECTIVE PROVISION FOR THE POOR, 1753
- THE JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO LISBON, 1755
- WORKS, 1766
- COLLECTED WORKS, 1882, 1902, 1967
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