{"product_id":"tom-jones-9780486831749","title":"Tom Jones","description":"When Squire Allworthy returns from London to discover a sleeping baby of unknown parentage in his bed, \u003ci\u003eTom Jones\u003c\/i\u003e makes its rollicking start toward a picaresque journey across eighteenth-century England. Its foundling hero, having grown to young manhood and developed a passion for the girl next door, finds himself banished from the squire's country estate by the contrivance of a romantic rival. Lusty, good-hearted Tom is thus compelled to seek his fortune far from home and, ultimately, in the company of soldiers, thieves, whores, and other vividly drawn characters. \u003cbr\u003e One of the first and most influential novels, \u003ci\u003eTom Jones\u003c\/i\u003e was an instant sensation upon its publication in 1749. Henry Fielding's masterpiece of wit, written in a mock-epic style that parallels Tom's adventures with episodes from classical mythology, offers an exuberant panorama of eighteenth-century life. Beloved for its bawdy humor and adroit social commentary, the novel has been adapted many times for stage and screen and ranks among English literature's greatest comedies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDubbed \"the father of the English novel\" by Sir Walter Scott, Henry Fielding (1707-54) was educated at Eton and worked as a barrister, although writing was his true vocation. In 1741 he published \u003ci\u003eShamela\u003c\/i\u003e, a parody of Samuel Richardson's sentimental and moralistic \u003ci\u003ePamela, \u003c\/i\u003efollowed a year later by \u003ci\u003eJoseph Andrews.\u003c\/i\u003e In 1749 he produced \u003ci\u003eTom Jones, \u003c\/i\u003ehis comic masterpiece and an incomparably vivid portrait of English society during the mid-18th century.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Dover Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50324858667282,"sku":"9780486831749","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_51586ce6-6a92-4c94-84fa-a3e17df3b5d2.jpg?v=1748522157","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/tom-jones-9780486831749","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}