The classic story of a young man living by his wits and relying upon his fortunes in 18th-century England, by one of the greatest novelists in the language. Tom Jones, a foundling who is taken in and raised by the kindly Squire Allworthy, is a guileless boy whose inherent decency is sometimes obscured by his high-spirited bawdiness and candor. Unjustly banished from the Allworthy house, Tom takes to the road and, after a series of richly comic, often harrowing adventures, learns the value of prudence, is reunited with Allworthy, and discovers his true identity.