Henry Fielding Biography - Books & Life - Interesting Facts, Novels, Dramas

The Life of Henry Fielding, The Father of Novel

Table of Contents

• Early Life and Childhood
• Henry Fielding's Career
• Henry Fielding The New Magistrate
• Henry Fielding Major Works
•  Henry Fielding's Famous Novels
• Henry Fielding's Famous Plays
• Henry Fielding's Personal Life and Legacy
• Henry Fielding Love Affairs
• Henry Fielding Sister Sarah
• Death of Henry Fielding
• Early Life and Childhood

On April 22, 1707, in Somerset, England, Col. Edmund Fielding, and his wife gave birth to Henry Fielding. His father served under John Churchill, John was the duke of Marlborough, a commander in the early 18th century. Soon after, his father remarried, and Henry was left alone at the age of 11. Soon after that, he went to attend Eton College. It was Henry's choice for studying the classics. George Lyttelton, a future politician, was introduced to him and they became friends. However, Henry started composing plays during this period. Over time, Henry enrolled at the University of Leiden in Holland in 1728 to pursue a degree in classical studies and law. Unfortunately, he gave up his studies due to a lack of money and return back home after just a few months.

Henry Fielding's Career

After returning to England, he started creating plays for the stage in the 1730s. The British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole's administration was criticized by him in his plays.  The Theatrical Licensing Act of 1737 is said to have been established in revenge for his actions and the works he has written against the government. Having his creative freedom severely curtailed by the Act, Henry was unable to satirize official characters in his plays. In the end, he quit the stage and became a barrister, a lawyer.

However, Henry never stopped writing. In his writing career, a writer named Samuel Richardson published Virtue Rewarded or Pamela in 1740. It tells the tale of a servant girl who rejects her master's efforts to try to love her and ends up winning his heart because of her purity.  As a result, this work was a big success. However, the way Richardson presented women in his work was disliked by Henry. So, Henry wrote a work against Richardson above work and mocked the women's morality in his newly made work, 'Apology for the Life of Mrs. Shamela Andrews."

The interesting thing to note is that this work was not published under Henry's name and Henry never claimed credit for the piece, and it was published anonymously. Based on his writing style, it is widely recognized that he was responsible for the book's success. 

His novel 'Joseph Andrews,' is considered one of Henry’s great works. Fielding's debut as a professional author was marked by the publication of this work.

In the year 1743, he wrote another great work to honor Mr. Jonathan Wild. That is why he wrote ‘The History of the Life of Mr. Jonathan Wild the Great." In this work, Henry compared Robert Walpole and Jonathan Wild. 

History saw the great author become famous because of his hilarious humor. He became known as a humorist in the mid-1740s, and in 1749 he wrote 'Tom Jones.' Iconic tales of a low-class hero's travels are depicted in this picaresque book set in an unjust culture.

Henry Fielding The New Magistrate

Many people do not know that he was a magistrate. For many years in the late 1740s, he served as both a magistrate in Middlesex and a judge of the peace for Westminster, London.  In 1749, he and his younger half-brother John, both dedicated to the struggle against crime and formed the Bow Street Runners. They became the greatest magistrates in eighteenth-century London who made the Bow Street Runners, It is called the city's first professional police force.

Henry Fielding Major Works

Henry Fielding was influenced by William Shakespeare, Homer, Horace, Miguel de Cervantes, John Milton, and Jonathan Swift.

"Tom Jones," Henry Fielding's best-known work and the first English book to be described as a novel, is the subject of this article. The work, which spans 18 volumes, is well-structured despite its length. In his 1948 book 'Great Novelists and Their Novels,' W. Somerset Maugham listed it as one of the world's top 10 novels.

 Henry Fielding's Famous Novels

• Shamela

• Joseph Andrews

• The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

• Jonathan Wild

• Amelia

Henry Fielding's Famous Plays

• Rape upon Rape

• The Modern Husband

• Love in Several Masques

• The Temple Beau

• The Universal Gallant

• Pasquin

• The Covent Garden Tragedy

• The Author's Farce

Henry Fielding's Personal Life and Legacy

Charlotte Craddock, Henry Fielding's first wife, wed him in 1734. He loved her so much that he based two of his heroines (Sophia and Amelia) on her. Only one of the couple's five children lived into maturity. In 1744, his wife died, and he was devastated. Charlotte's 23-year-old daughter was also tragically killed after a short period of time.

Henry Fielding Sister Sarah

Sarah Fielding, Fielding's sister, was also an accomplished author. In addition, The Governess (1749) by Sarah Fielding can make her to being the first English children's fiction.

Henry Fielding Love Affairs

He had an affair with his wife's maid, Mary Daniel, and she got pregnant with his kid due to their relationship. They were married and had five children as a result of their romance. Unfortunately, three of the youngsters died of their injuries at an early age.

Death of Henry Fielding

Henry Fielding had gout and asthma, a disease in the early 1750s, which worsened. The year 1752 was the year that he needed crutches or a wheelchair. To find a solution to his health problems, he traveled to Portugal in the summer of 1754. On the 8th of October, 1754, he passed away in Lisbon.

Click here for more articles Types of Novel - Origin of Novel

How did Virginia Woolf die?

What caused Virginia Woolf's death?

Suicide, as many as two suicide attempts, was made on her part. Perhaps she had bipolar disorder, which had no effective treatment at the time of her illness. As a 59-year-old in 1941, Woolf drowned herself in Lewes' River Ouse.

How old was Virginia Woolf at the time of her death?

Fifty-nine years, In 1941, at the age of 59, Woolf committed suicide by jumping into the sea near her home in Sussex, England, after a lifetime of mental illness. 

Among the many tributes, she received from TIME, was that her work was complicated and poetic.

Is Virginia Woolf's body found?

Yes, her corpse was found on April 18th. Her husband, Leonard, was able to identify her accurately.

How many children did Virginia have?

Woolf battled the "hairy black monsters" of instability even as her career flourished.

Due to Leonard's belief that Virginia lacked both mental and physical strength, the couple could not have children.

Virginia Woolf's suicide note included what?

"In these horrible circumstances, I feel I can no longer carry on." This is not what she wrote: "I feel like I am going insane again." There is no way we can go through something worse than that again.

Woolf's Suicide Note

What went so wrong for Vita and Virginia, exactly?

There's a clear indication that the movie gets this wrong: Orlando, a work in which Woolf lavishly riffs on the life, character, and family background of Vita Sackville-West. It is implied throughout the film that Vita attempted but failed to free Virginia from her sad state.

Was Virginia Woolf a real person?

Adeline Virginia Woolf, better known as Virginia Woolf, she was born in 25 January 1882 in London and died 28 March 1941 in Rodmell, Sussex English writer whose books had a significant impact on the genre with their nonlinear approaches to narrative.

Name the beloved of Virginia Woolf?

In 1922, Virginia Woolf had the pleasure of meeting novelist Vita Sackville-West. Friends and colleagues until Woolf died in 1941, and they became lovers.

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Age of John Dryden (1631-1700) l John Dryden as a Satirist l John Dryden Famous Works l John Dryden Political views

He was a famous English playwright, poet, critic, interpreter, and dramatist, and became the first poet to receive England's Poet laureate award in 1668. He is the finest restoration age literary figure.

Birth
Thrapston Northamptonshire, England, Aldwincle, August 19, 1631.

Died
London, UK, May 12, 1700 (aged 68)

Occupation
Poet, critical literary, drama

Important works
Mac Flecknoe,  The Hind and the Panther, Fables, Ancient and Modern, All for Love and The Spanish Fryar, Annus Mirabilis, Religio Laici, Absalom and Achitophel,  Astraea Redux

Family 
Erasmus Dryden(Father) 

Mary Pickering (Mother)

Wife
Lady Elizabeth

Children
Charles, John, Henry Erasmus.

Dryden was born in 1631, he was the eldest of fourteen children born in a village named Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire.

He was up with strong puritanical views and was sent to Westminster in 1644 and then to Cambridge in 1650. He made excellent use of his opportunities, studied with enthusiasm, and became one of his oldest educated people. With his expertise and familial connections, he was associated with the puritan party. Dryden's first significant poem about the death of Cromwell, 'Heroic Stanzas,' has been published in 1658:
This is the "Heroic Stanzas" poetry

''He alone received his splendor from above,
Because he was so rich ere;
And struggles, like mists of light,
Made it, but it doesn't seem larger.''

At the age of 32 on 1 December 1663, Dryden married Lady Elizabeth, Sir Robert Howard's Royal sister. Charles, John, Erasmus Henry, were three sons.

Dryden Carrier and Later Life
Dryden 'Astrea Redux,' a welcome poem for Charles II and his 'Panegyric for his Holy Majesty,' breathes a greater appreciation for his love for 'the old goat' and his earlier puritanical writings. The poem "Heroic Stanzas" made Dryden known and was fairly transformed into the New Poet of puritanism. His "Annus Mirabilis" got more renowned and famous in 1667. It is a narrative poem, describing the terror of the great fire in London and some events of the terrible battle in the Netherlands.

Dryden gave himself severe labor for almost 20 years. Theater needed dirty play and Dryden following his crowd, which was demonstrated in some of his later work, "All for Love" being the first play written in a blank verse, the others primarily in a few times. During this time Dryden became the most renowned literary personality in London, but his efforts were rewarded with considerable economic returns and his position as poet and collector at the London Harbor.

At the age of 50, Dryden went from his theatre work into the struggle between religion and politics by writing his numerous prose and lyrical treatises at the time. The laity's religion was born in 1682 in defense of the Anglican Church against most sects especially Catholicism and the Protestants.

Dryden's most famous religious poetry is "the hind and the panther." During the 1688 uprising, he refused to stick to William of Orange, as he was deprived of all pensions and was condemned again as the only income of an old person in his works. However, Dryden's "Fables"' final work contains poetic parables of Boccaccio and Chaucer tales. The opening to the tale is generally considered as an example of Dryden and the new prosaic style of his successors.

Dryden Poetic Style
Dryden used formal frameworks like heroic couples, he tried to repeat the flow of genuine speech, and he realized that different subjects required different verses. His subject was characterized by or composed of facts. Dryden had a major impact on the following classical period.

This effect may be summed up by taking into consideration the three components in our literature.

• These are the following:
• His development as we continue to cultivate the simple, functional writing style,
• The establishment of Satiric heroic pairs, educational and descriptive poetry.
• His growth in his works and many prefaces to his literary-critical art poetry. It's a tremendous task to do for one man, we can definitely say and it deserves appreciation for Dryden, but little of what he wrote is in our libraries.

Youtube Lecture: Age of  John Dryden

Henrik Ibsen short biography

Henrik Ibsen 

Short Biography

Henrik was born in 1828 and died in Norway in 1906.
He was a and poet Norwegian playwright, theatre director,
He is regarded  as the father of modern theater.
He is also considered one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre.
He is considered often as one of the truly  best and great playwrights in the European values.
His father's name was Knud Ibsen and the name of his mother was Marichen Altenburg.
His father was a merchant and dealt in shipping timber.

His themes deals with issues of moral conflicts and financial difficulties.

At the age of fifteen Henrik was forced to leave the school.

Edward Bond Short biography

Edward Bond

Short biography

Edward Bond was born in 1934 in Holloway London.
He belongs to a lower working class.
He was an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter.
He is the author of some fifty plays.
Bond is broadly considered one among the major dramatists.
He has always been and still remains highly controversial because of the violence shown in his plays.
The radicalism of his statements about modern theatre and society and of his theories on drama has made him a controversial personality.
He was at fifteen when he left school after gaining only a very low education.
He did various jobs in factories and offices.
He did his national service in the British Army occupation forces in Vienna between 1953 to 1955.
In 1977, Yale University gave an Honorary Doctorate which he accepted.

John Milton's Biography

John Milton's Biography

He was born in London in 1608.

He died in 1674.

Milton become blind at the age of 43.

Milton marry three times.

His father's name was John Milton Sr.

Sara Jeffery was the name of his mother.

In 1637, his mother died. 

His father was a real estate agent, money lender and law adviser. 

He married Mary Powell in 1642. 

His daughter Anne was born in 1646. 

In 1647, his father died. 

His second daughter, Mary was born in 1648.

His only son, John was born in 1651. 

Milton lost his eye sight in in 1652.

In 1652, his wife and the son died

After the death of his first wife Sara Jeffery, he married Katherine Woodcocknn 1656.

His second wife died in 1658.

He was arrested in 1659 for supporting Charles II.

In 1663, he married Elizabeth Minshul.

William Wordsworth Biography

William Wordsworth Biography 

He was born in 1770 in Lake District, England.
He died in 1850 in Grasmere, England.
His father was an attorney.

His father taught him.

His mother Ann Cookson died in 1778.

In France, his first wife Annette Vallon gave birth to his daughter in 1792.

In 1799, he returned to Lake District with his sister Dorothy.

In 1802, he went to France with his sister to meet his daughter.

Milton married a friend who was a childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson.

Their son John was born in 1803.

1804, their daughter Dora was born.

His brother John died in 1805.

In 1806, his son Thomas was born.

His daughter Catherine was born in 1808.

In 1810, his son William was born.

His son Thomas and daughter Catherine died in 1812.

His best friend Coleridge died in 1834.

His daughter Dora died in 1847.

John Keats Short biography

John Keats 

short Biography

He was born in 1795 in England and died in 1821.
Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron were one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic Movement and Keats was included in this generation .
Thomas Keats was his father.
His mother's name was Frances Jennings Keats.
Keats was in love with Fanny Brawne.
Keats admitted his brother Tom in hospital it was final stage of tuberculosis, this disease had killed Keat’s mother later Keats was killed by tuberculosis as well.
Keats father worked as an ostler at the stables in the beginning of his career.
He was a Romantic lyric poet better known for its clear imagery and sensuous appeal.


He was admired in Victorian Era Keats reputation grew after his death.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson poems have taken great influence from Keats.
His first poem is the sonnet which is called O Solitude.
He wrote, epics odes, and sonnets.
He has written five famous “odes.” These are “Ode on Melancholy” “Ode on Indolence, “Ode to Psyche, Ode on a Grecian Urn and , Ode to a Nightingale.
He was sent to a local dame school as an infant.
Later, he was sent to board at John Clarke's school in Enfield.
In 1815, He was registered as a medical student at Guy's Hospital
His first surviving poem, An Imitation of Spenser, was, written in 1814.

John Keats famous Works
Isabella
The Eve of St. Mark
Endymion
The Eve of St. Agnes
La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Hyperion
Lamia
Ode to a Nightingale.
Ode to a Grecian Urn.
Ode to Autumn.
Ode to Melancholy
Ode to Psyche
On First looking into Chapman's Homer
Bright Star

William Blake short Biography

                                          William Blake 

                                                             Short Biography 

• Blake was born in 1757 in England.
• He was a poet, printmaker and painter.
• He was influenced by William Butler Yeats, Hart Crane, Kahlil Gibran, Allen Ginsberg and many others)
• His father, James, was a hosier.
• He remained in  school only long enough to learn reading and writing, he left  at the age of ten.
• He was educated at home by his mother Catherine Wright Armitage Blake.
• Then he started engraving copies of drawings of Greek antiquities.
• His famous works,Raphael, Michelangelo, Marten Heemskerk and Albrecht Durer.
• William  starting  work Shows knowledge of Ben Jonson and Edmund Spenser.
• He became apprenticed to engraver James Basire of Great Queen Street, for the term of seven years in 1772.
• 
  
• At the age of 21, he was to become a professional engraver.
• At the Royal Academy, William  In 1779, became a student.
• Blake married Catherine in 1782.
• His  first collection of poems is called Poetical Sketches, which was printed in 1783.
• Blake composed his unfinished manuscript An Island in the Moon in 1784.
• Visions of the Daughters of Albion, he condemned the cruel absurdity of enforced chastity and defended the right of women.
• In 1804, he returned to London and began to write and illustrate Jerusalem.
• William  died in 1827.

William Blake Works:

John Donne and Alexander Pope's Poetry&Works

 John Donne and Alexander Pope's Poetry&Works

• Heroic couplet was first used by Geoffrey Chaucer in the legend of Women.Other says John Dryden and Alexander Pope.
• Donne was born in 572.
• Donne was married Mary Shadwell.
• The term first Metaphysical applied to poetry by Dr Johnson.
• "Of The Progress of the Soul" is a Satire.
• 
  
• Donne regions poetry was written after 1610.
• The main feature of Donne's poetry is wit and Obsecurity.
• Richard Crashaw,Henry Vaughan and Cowley are the metaphysical poets.
• The Cavalier poets deals with love and War.
• 1660-1700 was the restoration period.
• 
  
• An essay in criticism is written in Heroic Couplet.
• The rape of the lock was first published in 1712.
• There are five cantos in the rape of the lock.
• Valediction for bidding mourning Donne proves that lovers should not mourn at time of parting.
• The Dunciad and the Ode on St Cecill day are  written by Pope.
• Mock heroic is poem that uses epic structure and the subject is mean and trivial.