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The Adventures of David Simple (1744), Fielding's first and most celebrated novel, went through many English editions -- including a second edition heavily revised by her brother Henry -- and was translated into German and French.
The guileless hero, having been cheated by his hypocritical younger brother, sets out to find a "real friend". In recounting David's search, the novel depicts the derision with which almost everyone treats his sentimental attitudes to human nature. An important secondary character acts as a mouthpiece for some provocative feminist ideas.
This edition makes the original text of the novel available for the first time since 1744. It also reproduces Fielding's much darker sequel, Volume the Last (1753), in which a string of disasters befalls David and his family.
