
The Real History of Tom Jones
J. Stevenson(Author)
Palgrave MacMillan (Publisher)
Published on 4. March 2005
Book
Hardback
X, 225 pages
978-1-4039-6643-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Real History of Tom Jones revivifies historical materials from which Henry Fielding constructed the greatest comic novel of the eighteenth century. This study recovers and explores the contexts necessary to understand Fielding's subtle art, such as the bloody conflict for the throne between Stuarts and Hanoverians, a contradictory class system, game laws that both protected and flouted individual property rights, and a justice system that proclaimed hanging for many crimes but let most criminals go. Drawing on evidence such as the peculiar appearance of eighteenth-century money, the fraudulent autobiography of a gypsy king, and a magical prayer book illustration, the book offers new readings of both Tom Jones and the political and legal landscape of Georgian England.
Reviews / Votes
'Stevenson's readings are elegant and original, and his contention that complex counter-currents underlie the novel's surface commitments is generally persuasive. On criminal justic, in particular, Tom Jones has never been more subtly contextualized, and there is a masterly chapter on Fielding's resonse to the infamous Black Act of 1723.' - Times Literary Supplement
More details
Edition
2005 ed.
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Palgrave USA
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
1 s/w Abbildung
X, 225 p. 1 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4039-6643-8 (9781403966438)
DOI
10.1057/9781403981721
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

J. Stevenson
The Real History of Tom Jones
E-Book
12/2015
1st Edition
Palgrave MacMillan
€53.49
Available for download

J. Stevenson
The Real History of Tom Jones
Book
05/2008
Palgrave MacMillan
€53.49
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
JOHN ALLEN STEVESON is Chair and Associate Professor of English at the University of Colorado-Boulder, USA.
Content
Stuart Ghosts Savage Matters Black Acts Hanging Judges Gypsy Kings Mirror Plots