Henry Fielding

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Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, playwright, journalist, and magistrate. He was born at Sharpham Park in Somerset, the estate of his maternal grandfather (en.wikipedia.org). He received his early education at Eton College (approximately 1719–1724), where he formed lifelong friendships with figures like William Pitt the Elder (findoes.etoncollege.com). In 1728, Fielding traveled to the University of Leiden in the Netherlands to study law and classical literature, returning to London in late 1729 (biography.com).

In the early 1730s, Fielding made his mark as a prolific playwright with satirical burlesques such as The Author’s Farce (1730), Tom Thumb (added to The Author’s Farce in April 1730), and its expanded version The Tragedy of Tragedies (1731), which debuted at the Haymarket Theatre on 24 March 1731 alongside The Letter Writers (also 1731) (en.wikipedia.org). These works are notable for their satire of theatrical conventions and misuse of language, often published under the pseudonym H. Scriblerus Secundus (en.wikipedia.org).

Fielding later turned to novel-writing and helped shape the English novel as a literary form. His major novels include Shamela (1741), Joseph Andrews (1742), The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749), and Amelia (1751) (en.wikipedia.org). He is often regarded—alongside Samuel Richardson—as one of the founders of the traditional English novel.

From 1748, Fielding served as a justice of the peace in Westminster, and in 1749 he founded the Bow Street Runners, considered London's first professional police force, organizing a group of men formally tied to the magistrates' court to apprehend criminals—a major step in the development of organized law enforcement in Britain (en.wikipedia.org).

Fielding’s health declined in his later years. In an attempt to recover, he traveled to Lisbon, Portugal, with his wife and daughter in the summer of 1754. He died there on 8 October 1754 and was buried in the English cemetery in Lisbon (biography.com).

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