Fielding

Henry Austin DobsonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 378K words
Chapters: 38

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.Fielding by Austin DobsonAuthor: Dobson, Austin, 1840-1921,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2004

Editor's review

This critical biography of Fielding by Austin Dobson belongs to the tradition of author biography and criticism within English literary studies. Dobson, a man of letters and biographer of the late nineteenth century, balances documentary research with literary appeal; he does not rely on abstruse theory but sketches Fielding's creative path and the atmosphere of his age in clear narrative. Readers can thereby understand the writer's situation against the rise of the English novel in the eighteenth century and also appreciate the style of early biographical criticism. The book is short and in English, suitable as an introductory guide to Fielding studies or for reading alongside Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews, and other works. The Project Gutenberg electronic edition is convenient for searching and reading on the go, but it lacks modern scholarly annotation and bibliography; researchers needing depth must supplement it with other materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in eighteenth-century English literature and the rise of the novel
Students reading Fielding's works who want background on his life
Learners studying English author biography and early literary criticism
English majors who need original English texts for reading practice

Not a good fit for

Specialist researchers expecting modern scholarly annotation and a detailed bibliography
Readers who are not comfortable with English and need a Chinese translation
Those seeking systematic novel theory rather than life narrative

Reading tips

Read a summary of one of Fielding's major works first, then approach this book; the threads of life and work will be easier to follow.
Keep a brief chronology of eighteenth-century English society, drama, and the novel at hand for background as you read.
Use the book as a guide; after each chapter, review Fielding's writing in the corresponding period and keep comparative notes.
For the English original, read in close segments; mark names and places first and check them together afterward.

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

Is this book by Fielding or about him?

It is a critical biography of Henry Fielding by Austin Dobson, belonging to author biography and literary criticism rather than Fielding's own novels or plays. It helps you understand Fielding's life and background but is no substitute for reading his works.

Can I understand this book without having read Fielding's novels?

You can, but comprehension will suffer. The book discusses specific works and the background of the age; without any knowledge of the novels, you may stay at the level of names and events. It is best to learn the basic plots of major works such as Tom Jones first.

Does this electronic edition have modern annotations and a bibliography?

According to the information, this is a public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg, an early form of textual editing that generally does not include detailed modern scholarly annotation or an updated bibliography. For academic writing, consult modern authoritative editions and scholarship separately.

How difficult is the English?

Dobson writes in the English critical-biographical style of the late nineteenth century; sentence structure is more formal than modern academic English, but the book is not dominated by obscure theory. Readers with university-level English can read it through with a dictionary; literary terms and historical names are the main difficulties.

Comments

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About the author

Henry Austin Dobson Author · British · 1840–1921

Henry Austin Dobson (1840–1921) was a British poet, essayist and biographer, born in Plymouth and long employed by the British Board of Trade. He devoted himself to reviving French classical verse forms in England, such as the triolet and the rondeau, and was an important figure in the Parnassian movement; his poems are metrically exact and refined in classical taste. Beyond poetry, he specialised in eighteenth-century English culture, writing biographies and critical studies of Horace Walpole, Fielding and Fanny Burney, as well as essay collections such as Eighteenth Century Vignettes and De Libris: Prose and Verse. His elegant prose vividly portrays people and period, and he did much to popularise eighteenth-century literature and social life. Six of his works are held in this collection.