ABSTRACT
Viewed in the context of the later works, Familiar Letters marked Sarah's movement away from the sort of recognizably novelistic fiction found in David Simple. On January 2, 1749, Fielding published one of her most successful works, The Governess; Or, The Little Female Academy, which has been described as the first English novel for children. Of all Fielding's works, The Governess, with its series of personal histories and interpolated stories, is the closest descendant to Familiar Letters. With its emphases on self-reflection and self-knowledge and its focus on the experiences of school-aged girls, The Governess would seem an unlikely place for Fielding to discuss political issues and current events. Fielding's purpose becomes clearer when we understand The Governess's relationship to Henry's comic masterpiece Tom Jones. Still, Tom Jones, like The Governess, traces the impact of education on young minds, and both works are thematically focused on personal growth and maturity.
