The eponymous hero is first introduced as a baby, discovered in the astonished Mr Allworthy's bed. A charitable gentleman, he adopts Tom, feeling an instant affection for the boy whom the rest of his family condemn as 'born to be hanged'. This panoramic comic novel relates Tom's picaresque adventures, the coincidences and frustrations encountered along the way, and his devotion to the beautiful, apparently unattainable heroine, Sophia Western. Fielding's sharp, sardonic touch has made Tom Jones a much-loved classic.