Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 1, 2004|Volume 33, Number 5

Conference looks at influence of Henry Fielding

The legacy of 18th-century author and playwright Henry Fielding, perhaps best known for his novel "The History of Tom Jones," will be explored in an international conference at Yale being held Friday-Saturday, Oct. 8-9.

The conference commemorates the 250th anniversary of the date of Fielding's death on October 8, 1754. It will gather together scholars from the United Kingdom, the United States and France to talk about the author, whose satiric novels and plays attained great acclaim, as well as government censorship, during his lifetime. In conjunction with the event, there will be an exhibition of Fielding-related materials at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and a production featuring two of the author's short comedies.

The conference and accompanying exhibition were organized by Claude Rawson, the Maynard Mack Professor of English (see related story); Jill Campbell, professor of English; and Vincent Giroud, former curator of modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke Library.

During his 47 years, Fielding wrote four satiric novels, including "Tom Jones" and "Jonathan Wild," which Rawson recently edited with Linda Bree. Fielding, who described himself as the "great, tattered bard," was also the author of 25 plays, several influential political pamphlets and a posthumously published book of travel.

A lawyer by training, Fielding was a district magistrate and successfully proposed reforms to the criminal justice system. His early career as England's leading playwright came to an end with his satire taking aim at then-Prime Minister Robert Walpole. His plays triggered the Licensing Act, a long-enduring form of censorship that governed all British stage productions until quite recently.

The speakers at the Yale conference will consider the continuing interest and influence of Fielding's works, as well as the relationship between the author and his sister, Sarah Fielding, herself a popular novelist. The conference will feature four sessions, to be held at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St. It is free and open to the public. Prior registration is not required. For a full conference schedule, visit the website at www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/brblevents/brblevents.html or call (203) 432-7325.

An exhibition of some manuscripts and first editions of work by Fielding, and manuscripts of Sarah Fielding from the Beinecke's extensive collections is currently on display at the Beinecke and will remain on view through the conference. The Beinecke Library, located at 121 Wall St., is open for exhibition viewing 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

In conjunction with the conference, there will be a production of Fielding's comedies "Eurydice" and "Miss Lucy in Town" Wednesday-Saturday, Oct. 6-9, at 8:30 p.m. in the Underbrook Room of Saybrook College, corner of Elm and York streets.

The plays will be staged by nine undergraduate actors, directed by Murray Biggs, associate professor (adjunct) of English and theater studies, and Tim Smith '05 of Saybrook College. The event is sponsored by the Beinecke Library.

"Eurydice," which re-enacts Orpheus's journey to the underworld to reclaim his dead wife, is also a satire on 18th-century manners, as is "Miss Lucy," which describes a young country wife's accelerated introduction to London society in the 1730s.

The Oct. 8 performance is reserved for members of the Fielding conference. Reservations for the other performances, which are free and open to the public, may be made by sending e-mail to sarah.baxter@yale.edu or calling (860) 874-8988.

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