Fanny vs The History of Tom Jones: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Foundlings, England, History, Fiction

Fanny Erica Jong · 1980 ★★★★☆ 3.7 505 pages · ≈ 9 h 21 m · Moderate

“I, Fanny Hackabout-Jones, having been blest with long Life, which makes e'en the Harshest Events of Youth pale to Insignificance or, i'faith, appear as Comedies, do write this History of my Life and Adventures as a Testament for my only Daughter, Belinda.”

"Jong . . . filled a gap in the great tradition of the picaresque novel. . . . Linguistically, "Fanny" is a tower of strength. . . . Jong has gone farther than Joyce."--Anthony Burgess, "Saturday Review."

Prostitutes Young women London Witches

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The History of Tom Jones Henry Fielding · 1749 ★★★★☆ 3.8 869 pages · ≈ 16 h 06 m · Demanding

The foundling Tom Jones is found on the property of a benevolent, wealthy landowner. Tom grows up to be a vigorous, kind-hearted young man, whose love of his neighbor's well-born daughter brings class friction to the…

1 film adaptation

NOVELAS INGLESAS Chronology Aufsatzsammlung Young men

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Fanny is the quickest read — about 9 hours vs 16 for The History of Tom Jones.
The History of Tom Jones has the widest readership — 34656 ratings behind its score.

Fanny: Check price →The History of Tom Jones: Check price →

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Fanny ≈ 9h vs 16h for The History of Tom Jones New to the genre? Fanny Moderate vs Demanding for The History of Tom Jones

Scores by source

	Fanny	The History of Tom Jones
Goodreads	3.9 (9)	3.8 (34656)
Hardcover	4.0 (2)	3.6 (35)
Apple Books	3.5 (15)	4.5 (55)
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Reception

	Fanny	The History of Tom Jones
Ratings	15	34656
Editions	13	435
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	9	40261
Reading it now	—	1777
Written reviews	—	1525
Wikipedia attention	915	7489
Pages	505	869
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Fanny or The History of Tom Jones?

The History of Tom Jones has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The History of Tom Jones 3.8/5, Fanny 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Fanny or The History of Tom Jones?

Fanny is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Fanny (505 pages, ≈ 9 h 21 m); The History of Tom Jones (869 pages, ≈ 16 h 06 m).

Which is harder to read: Fanny or The History of Tom Jones?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Fanny: Moderate; The History of Tom Jones: Demanding.

Have both books been made into films?

Fanny: no film adaptation on record; The History of Tom Jones: 5 film adaptations.