Tom Jones: A Literary Appreciation (Hardbound - 1999)

This book, is an in-depth study of the novel Tom Jones: A Literary Appreciation written by Henry Fielding, the father of English novel, in 1749. The novel is written on such a vast scale, with a large number of characters and incidents, with epic and comic styles employed from time to time, that it is truly called a comic epic in prose. Its characters have been drawn from life, so that the novel is a true representation of the English society of the mid-eighteenth century. Its plot construction has remained a model for later novelists for about two centuries. So, it is a must reading for all students of English Literature.

However, a college student is always in great hurry to finish his course. Often he skips the study of this novel because of its being bulky. Moreover, he needs a guide to enable him to appreciate works of literature, more so in the case of this great novel.

Dr. R.N. Arya has been a senior lecturer at P.P.N. College, Kanpur for more than two decades. He has had also a specialised training in literary appreciation at the Central Institute of English, Hyderabad under the guidance of instructors from the British Council. As such, he is fully aware of the difficulties which students of English Literature face in appreciating the literary qualities of a work. His own doctoral thesis is on Marxist Critics of Shakespeare. He gave proof of his original approach in his thesis submitted at the Central Institute of English on the use and omission of Article.