Abstract

Material for an assessment of Fielding's years as a magistrate is comparatively abundant. Almost nothing is known, however, of the earlier part of his career, of his abilities as a practicing lawyer and of the impression he made on his legal colleagues. Considering, though, the prominence given by scholars to the aesthetic functioning of law in Fielding's literary works, it is especially important to get a clearer sense of his forensic competence and reputation. Fielding is generally thought to have had little success at the bar—a result, as some of his enemies insisted, of his legal incompetence. Much circumstantial evidence could be assembled that would seem to refute this hostile charge. A contemporary "character" of Fielding, which I have discovered, however, provides a surprising perspective on this question. Although short, it is the only known evaluation of Fielding by one of his legal colleagues and one of the few substantive contemporary accounts of his social interactions with his friends.

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