A joyfully picaresque novel, Tom Jones is satirical and farcical in large doses, as well as confronting serious issues, such as the importance of religion in 18th-century society.

Tom is thrown out of his foster father's house for "crimes" that he didn't commit, and proceeds to have numerous bawdy adventures and fights, eventually finding that only his true love can save him from a life that could possibly end at the gallows.