The term 'radical' may not immediately spring to mind when one conjures up an image of the eighteenth century gentlewoman, yet in Tom Jones, Fielding, amongst other concerns, uses his novel to introduce female characters who are presented as radical, i.e. as having views and expressing behaviour inconsistent for women of their class and social standing. This book will start by offering a contextual analysis of 'Tom Jones' with regard to the political and social status of the eighteenth century gentlewoman which leads to her radicalization and lastly, the book presents Fielding's case for her...