The Adventures of David Simple. Containing an Account of His Travels through the Cities of London and Westminster in the Search of a Real Friend. Edited with an Introduction by Malcolm Kelsall

by Sarah Fielding

436 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1744

About the author

Sarah Fielding was a British author and sister of the novelist Henry Fielding. She was the author of The Governess, or The Little Female Academy (1749), which was the first novel in English written especially for children (children's literature), and had earlier achieved success with her novel The Adventures of David Simple (1744).

Reviews

[Ingrid Haunold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sarah Fielding, sister of the novelist Henry Fielding, published this book in 1744 with a follow-up book, "Volume The Last" (also contained in this edition), published in 1753. She excels at describing human emotions - jealousy, greed, etc.

Unfortunately, she is not a great storyteller. Not much happens in this novel - the main character, David Simple, meets one person after another who tells him their story. That's about it. David searches for and finds friends, and there's a happy end.

"Volume The Last" is very melodramatic, and this follow-up book wasn't as successful as the original novel.

This book is an important work in the field of comparative literature, and rightfully so, as two editions of this novel were published in 1744, and the second edition was heavily edited by Henry Fielding.

I so wanted to like this book, but it doesn't hold up well. If you're not interested in comparative literature, and are just looking for a good novel to read...choose another book.