Tom Jones

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

By: Henry Fielding

Narrated by: Bill Homewood

Tom Jones, a foundling, is brought up by the kindly Mr. Allworthy as if he were his own son. Forced to leave the house as a young man after tales of his disgraceful behavior reach his benefactor's ears, he sets out in utter despair, not only because of his banishment but because he has now lost all hope of gaining the hand of the beautiful Sophia. But she too is forced to flee her parental home to escape an undesirable marriage and their stories and adventures intertwine.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2013 Naxos AudioBooks

All is well that ends well

I found myself laughing, or identifying people with the various characters. Great lessons on virtue.

Brilliant!

Great performance of one of the great eighteenth-century novels. Excellent dramatization of the many voices.

Funny enough but a tad too long

I have seen and loved the movie, read the abridged version of this book and loved both, but I found thie unabridged version a bit tiring.

Mainly I took exception with the author musings and moralizing, while I sometimes enjoyed his jabs and tirades against his contemporaries, fellow writers and critics.

Fielding is just as pitiless with his characters, making fun of the aunt, of country squires and penning down everybody's fault neatly and amusingly in real Hogartian fashion.
The heroine is not very well sketched, possibly because virtue can be boring.

On the whole it is an amusing romp and pleasant to listen to.

"Around the world the trip begins with a kiss"

I enjoyed this 1749 comic novel follows the life and adventures of young Tom Jones in a picaresque panorama of 18th-century Britain.

Squire Allworthy found Tom in his bed as a newborn infant. The kind but gullible Allworthy raises Tom, who falls in love with the attractive neighbor Sophia Western. Unfortunately, Sophia's irascible, short-tempered dad has agreed, against Sophia's wishes, to give her hand in marriage to Squire Allworthy's repulsive and hateful nephew Blifil.

Blifil's contrivances combined with Tom's boyish excesses cause Allworthy to expel Tom from the Allworthy estate, which throws Tom into a series of adventures over and around a series of obstacles in order to learn the mystery of his birth, gain his fortune and win Sophia's hand.


"Roam if you want to / without anything but the love we feel"

LOVED THIS STORY

AND narration is an absolute masterpiece! I’ve listened to hundreds of audio books. This, by far, contained the best narration I’ve ever heard. I loved the story and all the characters remained true to form throughout this lengthy and entertaining book. I would definitely listen to this book again. Highly recommend.

Homewood for the win!

Excellent, soothing stuff. Great deadpan humor. We knew the ending but Bill H kept it fresh!

Plenty of Shenanigans

I read along with the Audible of the novel which I found a highly delightful and entertaining experience.
The narrator, Bill Homewood, who performed the audio version of the work was excellent doing the various characters as well as the invisible narrator (author) of the story. The Synopsis is as follows:

A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire—though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, Tom Jones is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature.

It is rather brilliant, and there is no lack of shenanigans as we follow Jones through his history and the reader never knows when and where the author will abruptly go off on a tangent, told in a most eloquent manner, end with a flourish and no doubt tossed his quill down and took a bow. I am either taken in by some farce or thoroughly enchanted by this author. As Fielding is rather the loquacious writer this read comes in Audible time at almost 38 hours or roughly 1,000 pages but worth every minute spent on it.

Kindheartedness

One of the Great Books of the Western World. A timeless classic that studies good and bad character and how no one is all good or all bad. An especially good study of kindheartedness. A good plot that has unexpected twists. Excellent narration with each character done with a different voice.

A big commitment made superb by excellent reader.

Bill Homewood is an excellent reader and his understanding of Fielding’s world and language, combined with his theatrical mastery and control, made what has otherwise been a great English novel I’ve never managed to stay with in print, into a jovial companion for long commutes and after-dinner dishwashing for the many months it took to saunter through it. Homewood creates distinct and consistent voices for dozens of characters in this sweeping picaresque “history” of the dashing and virtuous-to-a-fault Mr. Jones and his many escapades. It is a big commitment, but I highly recommend this audiobook, especially for those who are interested in 18th-century social class, etiquette, and society. Fielding is one of the English language’s admired writers - which I now understand listening to this book’s sharp wit, digressions on writing itself, and discussions of art generally.

Hilarious story!

I read the novel years ago and loved it. This narration was excellent, providing the flavor of the period.