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Article: An Inquiry into Narrative Description and Its Uses in Fielding's 'Tom Jones.'
- Article from:
- Studies in the Novel
- Article date:
- June 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 University of North Texas. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Smith's book is a modestly revised version of his dissertation. Smith did not update the dissertation to account for much of the extensive recent scholarship on Fielding. A series of labored reviews of earlier criticism remains but has been largely relegated to the endnotes. Other voices still dominate Smith's study, however, and the book is weakened by the author's tenacious reluctance to focus on his own (often excellent) insights. An extensive recitation of critical orthodoxy is questionable in a dissertation and comes across here as heavy-handed and dull.
The book is not without merit. Smith is much more interesting when he presents his own ideas than when he is ...