History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

A baby is found in the bed of the wealthy, kindly Squire Allworthy, who raises the foundling as his own. Tom Jones grows up generous, reckless, and catastrophically attractive, and in love with Sophia Western, the neighboring squire's daughter, who is meant for the smooth, scheming Blifil instead. Plotted out of his home and his inheritance, Tom takes to the roads of England, and the novel becomes a glorious tour of inns, brawls, redcoats, hypocrites, and bedroom doors opened at exactly the wrong moment.

Fielding presides over it all as the most charming narrator in eighteenth-century fiction, opening each section with essays that tease the reader, the critics, and himself. Beneath the comedy is a clockwork plot (every coincidence wound up and paid off) that closes on the secret of Tom's birth. Long, worldly, and endlessly good-humored, it is a book built for the long haul of a great listen.

At roughly 339,000 words, History of Tom Jones, a Foundling runs about 37½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The edition linked here is available from Project Gutenberg under its US public-domain listing. Check the edition, translation, completeness and copyright rules where you live. LoudReader lets you browse and download Gutenberg books; they are not all stored on installation. To listen:

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