Amelia — Volume 3

Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.9

Word count: 396K words
Chapters: 40

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Amelia — Volume 3 by Henry FieldingAuthor: Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 1, 2004

Editor's review

Amelia, Volume 3 continues Henry Fielding's detailed portrayal of marriage, debt, and human weakness. An important work of the eighteenth-century English novel, it combines sentimental plotlines with satirical observations on law, class, and married life. As the turning point of the whole book, this volume places its characters in increasingly complicated circumstances, showing how Fielding hides moral judgment in everyday detail. This edition is a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg with a complete text that is easy to obtain, suitable for course reading or independent study. It is best read not as a simple love story but with attention to the narrator's judgments of the characters' choices and to the novel's echoes of its social background. Readers familiar with Tom Jones will find this volume deepens their understanding of Fielding's view of fiction; newcomers should first learn the plot of the first two volumes before entering this one.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars of the eighteenth-century English novel and literature students
Readers who have finished the first two volumes of Amelia and wish to continue
Lovers of classic literature who enjoy Fielding's satire and moral observation

Not a good fit for

Readers who want to read Volume 3 on its own without catching up on earlier events
Contemporary fiction readers who prefer fast pacing and strong dramatic conflict

Reading tips

Review the main character relationships and the debt thread from the first two volumes before starting this one to avoid losing the plot.
Mark the narrator's comments on marriage and money as you read to grasp Fielding's satirical intent.
Read alongside social histories of eighteenth-century England to understand the legal and class background.
Keep chapter notes in the electronic edition so you can trace changes in the characters' circumstances.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Can I read Volume 3 without having read the first two volumes?

You can try, but it is not recommended. Volume 3 continues the character relationships, debt, and marriage threads of the first two volumes, and reading it directly can leave you confused about motives and plot turns. At minimum, read a summary of the first two volumes, or read the volumes in order before starting this one.

What edition is this eBook?

This is a public-domain eBook released by Project Gutenberg, in the original English, under the PR language and literature classification. The records show the electronic text was released in 2004; the current entry is dated 2019. It is suitable for on-screen reading and searching, but it is not the equivalent of a scholarly edition with detailed annotations.

What background knowledge should I have before reading?

Some knowledge of the rise of the eighteenth-century English novel, the marriage property system, and debt issues will help. Fielding's narration is often satirical and morally judgmental; reading it only as a love story can make you miss its observations on law, class, and human nature.

Comments

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About the author

Fielding, Henry, 1707-1754 Author

Henry Fielding (1707–1754) was an English novelist and playwright. The library holds 15 of his works, including The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, the two volumes of Joseph Andrews, The History of the Life of the Late Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great, Amelia, and partial collected works. These writings mostly deal with personal growth and social observation, written in a humorous and satirical style that reveals human nature and social manners through the protagonists' wanderings. The common category is inspirational growth. As public information is limited, details of his life are omitted; this introduction focuses on the subjects, style, and influence of his works rather than fabricating his education, awards, or specific experiences.