The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling

I read this in late April/Early May but am just getting around to a review (My focus since April 23rd has been reading the whole Bible and proofreading the entire Bible Book Club blog. I am so glad I did. So good to read reflections from 10-15 years ago.)  

I remember watching the BBC adaptation of this many years ago, to a point. Then I couldn't watch it anymore. But there is a new adaptation, and I decided to give the book a try and then watch the adaptation. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it!

(Looking closely at this book cover. It is quite racy!)

Here is why James Mustich thinks it should be one of the 1000 Books You Read Before You Die:

James Mustich

Henry Fielding had begun his literary career by parodying the most popular novel of his day, the sanctimonious Pamela: Or Virtue Rewarded, in two works, Joseph Andrews and Shamela (the title says it all). Having upended Pamela, so to speak, Fielding set out to write a novel that was truer to real life, with a hero who, though undeniably good at heart, is also a high-spirited young man with lusty appetites. One of the first great comic novels in English, and still one of the most entertaining in any language, Tom Jones is a gloriously robust and bawdy adventure boasting what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “one of the most perfect plots ever planned.”