Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Henry Fielding

  • Joseph Andrews by Henry Fielding and the reputation of the medical profession 1742

    Sally MetzlerChicago, Illinois, United States In his first published novel from 1742, Henry Fielding chronicles the journey and foibles of three principle characters: the amenable Parson Adams, the so-called beautiful wench Fanny, and her paramour Joseph Andrews—the namesake of the novel.1 Adventures and misadventures befall the young protagonist Andrews, none the least falling in love…

  • Tom Jones Medical

    In this great early English novel Henry Fielding describes several episodes that illustrate the way medicine was practiced in the days when doctors bled and purged their patients unconstrained by the shackles of evidence based medicine. The story begins with a country squire surprised to find in his bed “an infant wrapped in some coarse…