Occasional Form by J. Paul Hunter

In this assessment of Henry Fielding's career, Paul Hunter situates Fielding's plays and four novels (Shamela, Joseph Andrews, Tom Jones, and Amelia) in the context of Fielding's culture and society. He pays particular attention to the various models Fielding uses to construct his stories, while still affirming Fielding's particular place in the development of the novel. He includes some particularly felicitous readings of Tom Jones. Although this book was written in the 1970s, many of its arguments are worth pursuing.