poet, playwright, novelist, etc.

Henry Fielding was born in Glastonbury, Somerset, England, on April 22, 1707. He was educated at East Stour in Dorset, at Eton, and at the University of Leyden, where he began his writing career.

In 1728, Fielding published the satiric poem The Masquerade, and had his first play, Love in Several Masques, a five-act comedy, performed four times at Drury Lane. His most famous novel, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, was published in 1749. Fielding was also an excellent journalist and essayist.

In addition to his writing, Fielding served as the manager of the Haymarket Theatre in London (1729-1737) and as a Justice of the Peace for Westminster and Middlesex (1748-1749). He had studied law at Leyden, so whenever his income was sparse he would "revert" to that profession in order to make ends meet.

Henry Fielding died in Lisbon, Portugal, on October 8, 1754.

His Plays

Love in Several Masques (1728)
The Temple Beau (1730)
Rape Upon Rape (1730)
The Author's Farce (1730)
The Coffee-House Politician (1730)
The Tragedy of Tragedies; or, The Life and Death of Tom Thumb (1731)
The Letter Writers (1731)
The Modern Husband (1732)
The Mock Doctor (1732)
The Lottery (1732)
The Covent Garden Tragedy (1732)
The Old Debauchees (1732)
Miser (1733)
Deborah; or, a Wife for You All (1733)
The Intriguing Chambermaid (1734)
Don Quixote in England (1734)
Pasquin, A Dramatic Satire on the Times (1736)
Historical Register for the Year 1736 (1736)
Tumble-Down Dick; or, Phaeton in the Suds (1736)
Eurydice (1736)
Eurydice Hissed (1736)
The Wedding Day (1743)

His Novels
[linked titles available from amazon.com]

An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews (1741)
The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of His Friend Mr. Abraham Adams (1742)
Vindication of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough (1742)
The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great (1743)
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749)
Amelia (1752)
A Journey from this World to the Next (1749)
Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon (1755)

His Other Works

Champion, a news journal
Miscellanies (1743), three volumes of poems, essays and stories issued by subscription
True Patriot (1745-1746), a newspaper for ministerial interests
Jacobite's Journal (1747-1748), a newspaper for ministerial interests
Enquiry into the Causes of the Late Increase of Robbers, etc. (1751)
Covent Garden Journal (1752), a satirical review of society and literature of his time that appeared twice a week
Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon (1755), describes a trip he made to Portugal.

SOURCE
Encyclopædia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1957

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This page was last updated on 04/21/2017.