First published in 1970, this selection of Fieldingâe(tm)s criticism is an important contribution to our understanding of Fielding and his age. It directs considerable light upon Fieldingâe(tm)s own critical views, with regard both to his own works and to eighteenth-century life and literature at large. The volume includes many of Fieldingâe(tm)s well-known and important statements on literature, society and morals, as well as many which are now difficult to obtain. The selection presents the full range of Fieldingâe(tm)s criticism, showing the relations between his statements concerning literature and his opinions on other matters, and drawing on the complete body of his work. The editor has provided a large-scale analytical introduction.