The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

E252792

comic novel novel picaresque novel

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling is an 18th-century comic novel by Henry Fielding that follows the misadventures and romantic entanglements of the good-hearted foundling Tom Jones in Georgian England.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling canonical	5
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (novel)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T2308479 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Context triple: [Tom Jones (1963 film), basedOn, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling]

A. Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders is a 1722 novel by Daniel Defoe that follows the picaresque life of a resourceful woman who survives through crime, deception, and multiple marriages in 17th-century England.
B. The Diary of Samuel Pepys
The Diary of Samuel Pepys is a famous 17th-century personal journal that offers an intimate, day-by-day account of London life, politics, and major events such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire.
C. Drapier's Letters
Drapier's Letters is a series of politically charged pamphlets by Jonathan Swift, written under the pseudonym "M. B. Drapier" to oppose the imposition of debased coinage in Ireland and assert Irish rights against English authority.
D. The Earl of Selborne
The Earl of Selborne was a British aristocrat and colonial administrator best known for his senior role in governing parts of the British Empire in the early 20th century.
E. The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is an 18th-century ballad opera by John Gay that satirizes politics and high society through the lives of thieves and prostitutes in London.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Target entity description: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling is an 18th-century comic novel by Henry Fielding that follows the misadventures and romantic entanglements of the good-hearted foundling Tom Jones in Georgian England.

A. Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders is a 1722 novel by Daniel Defoe that follows the picaresque life of a resourceful woman who survives through crime, deception, and multiple marriages in 17th-century England.
B. The Diary of Samuel Pepys
The Diary of Samuel Pepys is a famous 17th-century personal journal that offers an intimate, day-by-day account of London life, politics, and major events such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire.
C. Drapier's Letters
Drapier's Letters is a series of politically charged pamphlets by Jonathan Swift, written under the pseudonym "M. B. Drapier" to oppose the imposition of debased coinage in Ireland and assert Irish rights against English authority.
D. The Earl of Selborne
The Earl of Selborne was a British aristocrat and colonial administrator best known for his senior role in governing parts of the British Empire in the early 20th century.
E. The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is an 18th-century ballad opera by John Gay that satirizes politics and high society through the lives of thieves and prostitutes in London.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	comic novel ⓘ novel ⓘ picaresque novel ⓘ
adaptation	television series The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ surface form: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1997 TV series) Tom Jones (1963 film) ⓘ Tom Jones (1997 TV series) ⓘ surface form: Tom Jones (2023 TV series)
author	Henry Fielding ⓘ
containsElement	farce ⓘ road narrative ⓘ satire of manners ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ
criticalReception	highly acclaimed as a classic of English literature ⓘ
firstPublishedIn	London, England ⓘ surface form: London
focusesOn	misadventures of Tom Jones ⓘ romantic entanglements of Tom Jones ⓘ
genre	comic fiction ⓘ romantic fiction ⓘ social satire ⓘ
hasFoilCharacter	Blifil ⓘ
hasSubtitle	A Foundling ⓘ
influenced	development of the English realistic novel ⓘ
literaryForm	prose ⓘ
literaryMovement	Augustan literature ⓘ
literaryPeriod	18th-century literature ⓘ
literarySignificance	early example of the English novel ⓘ major work of Henry Fielding ⓘ
mainCharacter	Blifil ⓘ Sophia Western ⓘ Squire Allworthy ⓘ Tom Jones ⓘ
narrativeForm	third-person narration ⓘ
narrativeTechnique	authorial intrusion ⓘ omniscient narrator ⓘ
numberOfBooksInStructure	18 ⓘ
originalLanguage	English ⓘ
pageCountApproximate	over 800 pages in many editions ⓘ
protagonistDescription	good-hearted foundling ⓘ
publicationYear	1749 ⓘ
publisher	Andrew Millar ⓘ
setting	Georgian era ⓘ surface form: Georgian England
structureFeature	each book begins with an introductory chapter ⓘ
theme	class and social mobility ⓘ hypocrisy ⓘ love ⓘ morality ⓘ virtue ⓘ
timePeriodOfSetting	18th century ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tom Jones → basedOn → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ

subject surface form: Tom Jones (1963 film)

Henry Fielding → notableWork → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ

Joseph Andrews → hasSequel → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ

Lou Hirsch → notableWork → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ

television series The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling → basedOn → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ

subject surface form: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

this entity surface form: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (novel)

television series The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling → hasTitle → The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling ⓘ