Henry Fielding was a noted English novelist known primarily for the comic novel Tom Jones. He contributed significantly to the development of the English novel with witty satire and humor.
If you enjoy reading books by Henry Fielding then you might also like the following authors:
If you enjoyed Henry Fielding's witty satire and humorous narratives, you might like Tobias Smollett. Smollett's novels have energetic plots and sharp social commentary.
His novel, The Adventures of Roderick Random, follows a lively young man's humorous and often misfortunate encounters, painting a vivid picture of eighteenth-century life.
Laurence Sterne offers a playful and unconventional style that readers of Fielding will find refreshing. Sterne experiments with narrative style and form, using irony and humor to explore human nature.
In The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Sterne presents a whimsical, imaginative tale full of digressions and eccentric characters.
Fans of Fielding's realism and detailed storytelling would appreciate Daniel Defoe. His narratives often focus on believable characters struggling with moral questions and tough conditions.
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe tells a timeless story about survival, self-discovery, and human resilience, exploring deeper themes beneath its adventurous surface.
Samuel Richardson, like Fielding, depicts the complexities of social interactions and relationships in eighteenth-century society.
While his style may be more sentimental and introspective than Fielding's sharp wit, readers who appreciate exploring emotional conflicts and moral dilemmas will enjoy Richardson's novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, which explores the trials of a young woman protecting her virtue.
Jonathan Swift's satirical brilliance and biting wit complement Fielding's critique of human folly and society's flaws. Swift tackles humanity's weaknesses through sharp exaggeration and irony.
His satire Gulliver's Travels cleverly mocks social customs, political issues, and human behavior, offering entertaining yet thoughtful insights.
If you enjoyed Henry Fielding's satirical wit and sharp social commentary, you'll probably like William Makepeace Thackeray. His novel Vanity Fair humorously portrays the society of early 19th-century Britain.
Through clever characters like Becky Sharp, Thackeray exposes hypocrisy, greed, and the hollowness of social ambition. His style often mixes humor with subtle insight, much like Fielding's work.
Charles Dickens is famous for his vivid characters, humorous descriptions, and his pointed social criticism. Similar to Fielding, Dickens uses comedy and satire to highlight social injustice and inequality.
His novel Oliver Twist offers a memorable portrayal of poverty and crime in Victorian London, highlighting the struggles of the lower classes. If you enjoyed Fielding's blend of humor and critique, Dickens will keep you entertained and engaged.
Jane Austen's novels offer clever, often playful critiques of upper-class manners and social conventions. Her witty and precise observations of human behavior might remind you of Fielding's dry humor and satirical style.
Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice is an excellent example of this approach, following the spirited Elizabeth Bennet as she navigates romance and societal expectations, exposing layers of vanity and misunderstanding with enjoyable wit and charm.
Voltaire's writing shares Fielding's ability to combine sharp satire with compelling storytelling. His novella Candide humorously mocks absurd philosophies, religious hypocrisy, and social injustice, following Candide through various misadventures around the world.
If you appreciated Fielding's satirical style, Voltaire's witty commentary on human folly will feel natural and enjoyable.
Like Henry Fielding, Miguel de Cervantes brilliantly uses satire and comedy to challenge popular ideas and traditions.
His classic novel, Don Quixote, tells the funny and thoughtful story of a deluded nobleman who dreams of becoming a knight, offering commentary on the line between reality and imagination.
Cervantes's humor and ability to blend comedic scenarios with deeper human insights make him appealing if Fielding's style resonated with you.
If you liked Henry Fielding's sharp portrayals of society, give Honoré de Balzac a try. Balzac captures a vivid picture of 19th-century French life in his series of novels called La Comédie Humaine.
His characters are full of energy and ambition, and his observations of society are sharp and humorous. In Père Goriot, Balzac exposes the harsh realities of greed, social ambition, and family dynamics in a bustling Paris.
Fans of Henry Fielding’s insight into human motives might appreciate George Eliot. Her novels are thoughtful, character-driven studies of provincial life and moral complexity.
In Middlemarch, Eliot weaves multiple lives together, showing the interconnectedness of passions, ambitions, and ethics in English society. Her gentle irony and deep psychological insight reveal human nature's strengths and flaws.
If you enjoy Fielding's humor and sharp satire, Nikolai Gogol could suit your taste. Gogol creates memorable, quirky characters in stories filled with absurdity and wit, often criticizing society’s vanity and corruption.
In his novel Dead Souls, Gogol satirizes 19th-century Russian society through the adventures of Chichikov, a con artist whose dealings hilariously expose corruption and greed.
Anthony Trollope may appeal to readers who appreciate Fielding's approach to satire and society. Trollope writes with warmth about ordinary lives, carefully examining British society's ambitions, love, and petty rivalries.
His novel The Way We Live Now is a biting commentary on greed, social hypocrisy, and financial scandals. His clear, engaging fiction mirrors much of Fielding's own sharp observations.
If Fielding’s sharp focus on society and character appeals to you, Henry James is worth exploring. James’s novels provide deep exploration of psychological motivation, subtle human behaviors, and cultural differences between America and Europe.
In The Portrait of a Lady, he examines the complexities of freedom, choices, and character as Isabel Archer navigates European society and relationships, capturing human dilemmas with elegance and precision.