What if Joey Tribbiani had been born in 1740?

The answer: You'd have Tom Jones! Oh, how I loved this novel.Come with me as we consider a novel that's been rather lost, overshadowed by all the delightful 19th century English writers like Dickens, Austen, and even Trollope. The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, by Henry Fielding, is a love story with 900 pages of twists and turns to get the ending you know is coming. I thought there was no way I'd hang in there, but it turns out that this novel was a page-turner, delivering surprises until the very last chapter.As part of my "Brit Lit" set that I was reading in preparation for my vacation in England, I'll share whether this one made the grade, and if it leads me down any other rabbit holes.I hope you enjoy this episode half as much as I enjoyed the novel. And for fun, there's even the 1963 movie--and it WON the Best Picture Oscar that year!Next week we are back to history, but in a really cool way: Bijan Omrani traces England's history not through wars and treaties, but through architecture, song, and literature. See you next week!BOOKSIn this episode: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (Henry Fielding)The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes (Amazon affiliate links): https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2rCONNECTTo read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/Like what you heard? Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/crackthebookLISTENSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bdApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm