Biography of Henry Fielding

A Biography of Henry Fielding, 1707-1754.

by Peter Boggs

Henry Fielding was born on April 22, 1707 in Sharpham Park, Glastonbury, Somersetshire to Lt. Colonel Edmund Fielding and his wife, Sarah (Paulson 1). In the forty-seven years prior to his death in 1754, Fielding would become one of the most influential figures in the development of modern day literature. Fielding is perhaps best known today as the author of The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, and of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams and The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, two of the earliest and best examples, respectively, of the novel as a literary genre. Equally impressive, having had success and influence as a playwright, essayist, and magistrate, Fielding was a master at reinventing himself as circumstances of the times dictated (Paulson ix).

Fielding's youth was notably marked by the loss of a younger sister (one of four siblings by Edmund and Sarah, three sisters and one brother) when Henry was very young, and the loss of his mother just prior to Henry's eleventh birthday.

Also notable was the discord both financial and familial experienced by the family largely through the father, Edmund. Between 1714 and 1716 Edmund had fallen into debt, resulting in part from the fact that his military commission was cut to half-pay during peace-time (he had served the military with distinction in earlier campaigns, notably the battle of Blenheim (Paulson 4)), and in part due to some mismanagement on his part, including the loss of some 500 British Pounds in a card game (Paulson 1). Edmund remarried in 1719, uniting with a Roman Catholic widow, Anne Rapha. This would ultimately lead to a court action by Edmund's former mother in law, Lady Gould, in which Edmund was charged with dissipating the childrens' inheritance and with the intention of converting the children to Roman Catholicism (Paulson 2).

In the meantime (1719-1724) Henry had been enrolled at Eton, studying there on and off while Edmund argued with Lady Gould as to who should be in charge of his custody. The summer following his final departure from Eton saw Henry Fielding, by this time a young man, actively courting an heiress, Sarah Andrew. He was assaulted by a gang of thugs possibly hired to do so by Sarah Andrew's guardian in September of 1725, and he made a failed attempt at eloping with her that November (Paulson 3). In November of 1726, the argumentative nature that would be evident later in Henry Fielding's writings was revealed when he was indicted for assaulting one of his father's servants. The charges against Fielding were ultimately dropped.

By this time Fielding was actively writing poetry and plays, the latter being the primary literary genre of the period, and the genre upon which an aspiring writer could depend for a profitable living. In November of 1727 Fielding's The Coronation. A Poem. And an Ode on the Birthday were published (Paulson 3). Shortly thereafter he enrolled at the University of Leiden (Leyden) to study law, although transcripts of the University listed him as a student of literature (Weaver 1281). Success in both arenas later in his life indicates that Fielding was focused on both while at Leiden.

A first play, Love in Several Masques. A Comedy was written, and performed over a four night run with one benefit performance in February, 1728, a performance which actually temporarily delayed Fielding's departure to study at Leiden (Paulson 3). That summer, while at Leiden, Fielding had at least two known essays published. "The Norfolk Lantern," a satire on Walpole, appeared in The Craftsman, and "On the Benefit of Laughing," published in Mist's Weekly Journal (Paulson 3). Three additional plays, The Temple Beau, Don Quixote in England, and The Wedding Day were also written from 1728 to 1729, the first of which was performed in January, 1730 at the theater in Goodman's Fields (Paulson 4).

Following the limited success of this second play's performance, Fielding struck up an association with the Little Theatre in the Haymarket. It was there that he gained his first real acclaim, including 42 performances in 1730 of The Author's Farce; and the Pleasures of the Town. Written by Scriblerus Secundus. A better known play, Tom Thumb. A Tragedy enjoyed a 41 performance run later that year.

A second, expanded version of Tom Thumb which burlesqued all of the popular playwrights of the day was entitled Tragedy of Tragedies; or The Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great (Weaver 1281). It would be performed in 1731 at the Haymarket, becoming one of Fielding's best known dramatic works.

Fielding and other members of the Little Haymarket theater troupe moved to the government's own theater at Drury Lane, in 1732. While there, following the production of The Modern Husband. A Comedy, a play dedicated to Sir Robert Walpole, Fielding was attacked by the opposition journal The Grub-Street Journal (Paulson 35). He remained at the Drury Lane Theater, writing and producing plays until the fall of 1733, when the venue was sold to Charles Fleetwood. Thinking that the sale had been unfair to those operating the Drury Lane Theater, Fielding moved back to the Little Haymarket in April of 1734. Several of Fielding's plays which followed these events satirized Colley Cibber and his son, both of whom had sold their shares in the Drury Lane venue and left, taking many of the actors with them (Weaver 1281).

Following his move back to the Little Haymarket, Fielding's plays began also to take on a decidedly anti-government spin. His Pasquin, A Dramatic Satyr on the Times was a clear attack on perceived political corruption of Walpole's time (Weaver 1282). It was performed by Fielding's own company, "The great Mogul's Company of English Comedians, Newly Imported," (Paulson 38) as he was now both writing plays and managing all aspects of their production.

Fielding would produce several other plays which carried anti-Walpole sentiment, most notably The Historical Register for the Year 1736. While Fielding had at one time planned to build his own theater building, he mentioned in the dedication of this play that he preferred instead to make improvements to the Little Haymarket (Paulson 39). Those plans were scrapped, along with any further playwriting by Fielding, when Walpole, intending to censure any further attacks, introduced the Stage Licensing Act, effectively preventing Fielding from writing theatrical productions.

The years immediately following the Licensing Act saw Fielding become a law student at Middle Temple. He would bring in income for himself and his family (he had married Charlotte Cradock in 1734, and fathered his first child -- also named Charlotte -- by her in 1736) by writing essays for and editing several journals. In 1739 he helped to launch The Champion which was primarily an opposition paper but which included other, non-political essays (Rawson xii).

Fielding was called to the bar in June of 1740, joining the western circuit (Weaver 1283). That same year saw the publication by Samuel Richardson of Pamela, considered one of the first examples of a modern novel. Fielding, in 1741, responded to this work by writing a parody of it, entitled An Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews. Written in epistolary form, Shamela was essentially an experiment for Fielding in the genre of the literary novel.

Increasingly poor health prevented Fielding from dedicating consistent attention to his legal career. The year 1742 was notable instead, for the writing of Fielding's first full length novel, The Adventures of Joseph Andrews and His Friend, Mr. Abraham Adams . The work, which mimicked the initial criticism of Pamela, would draw repeated responses, both public and private, from Richardson (Weaver 1283). Fielding followed these works with three volumes of Miscellanies which included among other items a scathing sarcasm entitled The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild the Great (Drabble 360).

Fielding's life would face another setback in 1744 with the death of his wife. Very little was written in the year following this loss, until in 1746 Fielding began writing what would be the centerpiece of his works, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. While involved in this work, Fielding was editing various journals, including The True Patriot which supported the government's cause in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, and The Jacobite's Journal, which continued to support the government from 1747 through 1748 (Weaver 1284). Fielding remarried in 1747, uniting with Mary Daniel, who had previously been employed as his housekeeper and as his first wife's maid. By her, Fielding would have several more children. Tom Jones was completed and published in 1749, and was enthusiastically received by the general public, if not by such literary figures as Richardson, Smollet, Dr. Johnson, and others (Drabble 360).

Having been named Chief Westminster Magistrate at the Bow Street court in 1748, Fielding finally started to focus on legal matters following the release of Tom Jones. Despite having on and off bouts of seriously poor health (including gout) he was able to continue his efforts against government corruption. With his half brother and fellow magistrate Sir John Fielding (son of Edmund Fielding and Anne Rapha), Fielding attempted to establish new standards of honesty and competence on the bench (Drabble 360). Included in his many writings in this capacity were influential pieces with humanitarian ideals. A 1751 piece was entitled An Enquiry into the Causes of the Late Increase of Robbers, &c. with some Proposals for Remedying this Growing Evil. A 1753 item was entitled A Proposal for Making an effectual Provision for the Poor. Fielding also wrote advocating the abolition of public hangings.

Fielding's last novel was Amelia, which was published in 1751 and outsold his previously written works. A final venture into the world of journalism saw Fielding edit the twice weekly Covent-Garden Journal in 1752. By this time, problems with gout, asthma and other illnesses were so acute that Fielding's productivity was being severely cut back (Drabble 360). He left for Portugal in search of some improvement for his conditions, along with his wife and one of his daughters in 1754. A journal describing this trip, entitled The Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon was published in 1755, following his death on October 8, 1754.