Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book records the extant facts of Sarah Fielding's childhood, including her birth at the family farm in East Stour and time as a young girl in Salisbury, where she lived with her grandmother and grandaunt. It defines Sarah's artistic and political agendas and in this way provides a useful lens for examining her subsequent works. The book shows the relationship between the inner workings of the individual mind and the well-being of nations. It emphasizes the instructive potential of narrative, a point that reinforces by exploring the value of seemingly inconsequential works, such as fairy tales. The book reimagines the purpose of novelistic fiction and finds within the emerging art form something greater than escapism and reassurance. It finds expression in educational agenda, which both encourages intellectual independence and celebrates self-sacrifice and community.