Henry Fielding was born on April 22nd, 1707, to Edmund Fielding, a nobleman who spent most of his life in and out of debtor's prisons, struggling to make ends meet. Henry's childhood was marked by instability, as his mother's passing left him and his seven siblings to be taken in by their maternal grandmother. As a young man, Henry was known for his wild and willful nature, which led him to spend time abroad in a Dutch college before moving to London to pursue a career in writing plays.
Despite his early success as a playwright, Henry struggled with financial management, inherited from his father's inability to handle money. He remained perpetually in debt throughout his life, which often led to financial difficulties. In 1734, Henry married Charlotte Craddock after a four-year courtship, and the two enjoyed ten happy years of marriage before her untimely death in 1744 due to a fever. Henry was deeply devastated by her passing and went on to model the character of Sophia Western, the heroine of his novel "Tom Jones", after his beloved wife.
In 1747, Henry married Mary Daniel, his wife's former maid, who was six months pregnant with their child at the time. Despite his tumultuous personal life, Henry was a prolific and energetic author, known for his brawling, drinking, and womanizing. However, his health began to decline in 1754, prompting him to sail to Lisbon, Portugal, in the hopes of improving his constitution in a warmer climate.
Unfortunately, Henry's health only worsened, and he contracted jaundice in Lisbon, passing away just two months after his arrival on October 8th, 1754.
