Henry Fielding · 1749 · road

Henry Fielding's 1749 comic epic. The foundling Tom Jones, raised by the kindly Squire Allworthy at Paradise Hall, is cast out over a misunderstanding and takes to the road - through Gloucester, Upton and Coventry to London - a picaresque tumble of inns, duels, and misadventures, pursuing his beloved Sophia and his own true parentage to a happy end.

1. 1
   Paradise Hall

   Squire Allworthy's Somerset estate, an Eden from which the foundling Tom is banished through the scheming of his half-brother Blifil.

2. 2
   Gloucester

   At the Bell inn Tom and his companion Partridge fall in with a pettifogger and hear the tale of the Man of the Hill.

3. 3
   Upton-upon-Severn

   At the White Lion the three pursuits collide: Tom is caught with Mrs Waters just as Sophia arrives and departs in fury.

4. 4
   Coventry

   On the road by way of Meriden they meet a camp of gypsies whose orderly society mocks the politics of the day.

5. 5
   St Albans

   One of the last coaching stops before the capital, on Sophia's trail toward London.

6. 6
   London

   In the great city Tom is entangled by Lady Bellaston, fights a duel and lands in gaol before his true birth is revealed and he wins Sophia at last.