The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

One of the claims to newness that Fielding makes in his novel includes his rejection of he calls the “marvelous,” by which he means the inclusion of gods and goddesses of epic narratives or the supernatural agents in prose romances. He asserts that he is telling a history of a life that actually happened and thus aims to achieve what is now known as verisimilitude: a fictional world that resembles real life. An anonymous reviewer of The History of Tom Jones described it this way: “For chrystal Palaces and winged Horses, we find homely Cots and ambling Nags; and instead of Impossibility, what we experience every Day” (783). This turn toward realism distinguishes the novel from other literary genres, as does its emphasis on an individual’s private life.

It is tempting to conflate the narrator of The History of Tom Jones with Fielding himself, especially given the narrator’s conversational and direct addresses to the reader, along with the footnotes that identify characters, events, and settings drawn from Fielding’s own life. Certain attitudes held by the narrator, such as resentment for critics who tear apart theatre plays, are likewise easy to identify as Fielding’s own.