The Adventures of David Simple

by Sarah Fielding

Oxford University Press, 1969, illustrated frontispiece, four black and white illustrations, hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, minor rubbing to edges and corners, no inscriptions, price-clipped dustjacket shows a little edge and shelf wear with a little rubbing and bumping to edges, corners and covers (see photographs)

“The position of Sarah Fielding is unique in the history of the English novel.  She was the sister of Henry Fielding, and the close friend of Samuel Richardson.  This edition of her first novel, The Adventures of David Simple, edited by Malcom Kelsall of the University of Reading, reprints the text of the second edition of 1744 which was substantially revised, and prefaced, by her brother Henry.  She shares much of his wit and irony, but it was primarily for her psychological penetration that she was praised both  by Richardson and Samuel Johnson.  She is, therefore, not only among the first English women novelists, but was closely associated with both the main streams of development in English fiction.  This edition also includes her sequel to The Adventures of David Simple, Volume the Last, published in 1753 ( a rare work). Here she achieves a blend of irony and sentimentality independent of her sources.  In addition, Henry Fielding’s contribution to the text of 1744 is discussed in a long textual note.
The four illustrations in this edition are reproduced from the edition of 1782”