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Put out to nurse when he was a baby, Henry Clinton, second son of the earl of Moreland, sees little of his noble parents and their favorite older son. At the age of five and a half, young Harry, as he is called, makes the acquaintance of Mr. Fenton, an old man of the neighborhood. The old gentleman is so impressed by the innate goodness of Harry’s nature that he steals the boy away from his nurse, after leaving a note for the parents telling them that he will one day return their son. It is Mr. Fenton’s purpose to train young Harry to become the most accomplished and perfect of men. The parents grieve for a short time but soon forget the boy in favor of his older brother.
Mr. Fenton takes Harry to a mansion at Hampstead. With them they take Ned, a beggar lad whom Harry befriends. There, Harry’s education begins. Mr. Fenton, a very wealthy man, gives Harry large sums of money and hundreds of garments to distribute to the deserving poor. It is Harry’s task to learn to distinguish the deserving from the rascals. At the same time, the boys are instructed in academic subjects, bodybuilding, and other suitable lessons. Ned has irrepressible spirits, and he constantly torments his teachers. Sometimes Harry joins in the fun, but he is such a good boy that he immediately performs a favor for anyone who may suffer because of Ned or himself.
Harry is so tenderhearted that he frequently brings whole families to live at the mansion and gives them money, clothing, and work. Mr. Fenton is highly pleased with the boy, who has purity of heart and a willingness to be instructed in all phases of life. The old gentleman teaches him theology, principles of government, moral rules, and many other forms of philosophy.
Harry becomes the champion of all those who are tormented by bullies, even though the ruffians are often larger and stronger than he. He soundly thrashes many boys and men and then immediately helps them to their feet and becomes their friend. Once he trounces the son of a nobleman. The mother, not knowing Harry is also an earl’s son, would have him severely punished, but the father sees Harry’s good character and defends the lad. Most of the people Harry thrashes become his devoted servants, seeing and loving the nobility of character he possesses.
One day, Mr. Fenton calls on a lady who has issued several invitations to him. He is delighted to learn that the woman, now Lady Maitland, is his cousin Fanny Goodall. In their youth they loved each other, but he was many years older than Fanny. Recognizing Mr. Fenton, Fanny now calls him Harry Clinton. He is the brother of young Harry’s father, the earl of Moreland; thus, he is Harry’s uncle. Cast out with a small inheritance as was the custom with younger sons, he made his fortune as a merchant, married a wealthy woman, and prospered still more, but his beloved wife, his children, and his dear father-in-law all died, leaving him bereft of any emotion but sorrow. Although he gained a great fortune on the death of his father-in-law, he considers himself the poorest of men. Fanny is also a widow, and the two friends comfort each other as they talk of their sad lives. Mr. Fenton sees that Fanny is almost overcome with grief and promises to tell her the rest of his story later, but the good lady is called away before she can hear more.
Harry’s education continues. Mr. Fenton, as he is known to all but Fanny, sends him to the prisons to pay the debts of deserving persons and to secure their release. He continues to take unfortunates home with him, much to the joy of Mr. Fenton. Ned, too, is improving, although he still does not have the nobility of character that Harry possesses. One day, Ned’s parents are found. Harry helped some people who suffered an accident nearby, and these people became friends of the household. By a scar that his old nurse recognizes, Ned is known to her and then to his parents. The boy was stolen in infancy. It is with great joy that the parents greet their son. Although Ned is saddened to leave Mr. Fenton and his beloved friend Harry, he goes joyfully with his rightful parents.
Countless numbers of people become Harry’s friends because of his concern for their well-being. Mr. Fenton sends him and his tutor, one of Harry’s charities, to London to learn the ways of the city and the court. Even the king is impressed by the lad. Harry retains his modesty through all the adulation he receives, a fact that adds to his popularity. The queen and other noble ladies seek his company, but he eludes them all, making them better, however, for having known him.
When Mr. Fenton learns of the death of Harry’s mother and brother, he returns the boy to his father, the earl of Moreland, who is overjoyed at finding his lost son. When he learns that the child’s abductor was his own brother, thought dead, the earl is filled with remorse for having treated his brother so badly many years before. The brothers are united publicly, and everyone learns that Mr. Fenton is in reality the second son of the house of Moreland. The earl is grateful to his brother for stealing the boy and making a perfect man of him.
Mr. Clinton, as Mr. Fenton is called from then on, tells the rest of the story of his life. After the death of his loved ones, he lived in sorrow for many years. Then he married again after almost losing his life in his suit of the girl he loved, Louisa d’Aubigny. They had a lovely daughter named Eloisa. Sorrow, however, again haunted Mr. Clinton, for Louisa died from a fall and Eloisa was washed from a ship and seen no more. The bereaved man lived in solitude and misery until he met and abducted Harry.
Not long after learning his brother’s story, Harry’s father dies, and the boy becomes the earl of Moreland. He now has a huge fortune to spend for charity, and he spends wisely so that those who receive will profit from the money in all ways.
Before long, Mr. Clinton learns from his dead wife’s brother that he is coming to England, accompanied by Fanny Goodall. Fanny married Louisa’s brother and thus is Mr. Clinton’s sister-in-law. The old friends rejoice at their reunion. Fanny is accompanied by a dark Moorish page to whom Harry is instantly attracted. The boy tells Harry that he has a sister Abenaide, as fair as he himself is dark. She will soon accompany their father, the emperor, who is coming to England with his wife. The boy was sent ahead as a page to be trained in genteel conduct. When the girl arrives, Mr. Clinton finds her to be the daughter of his own supposedly dead Eloisa. Saved from the sea, Eloisa married the emperor of Morocco. To Harry’s extreme surprise, the Moorish princess is the same page whom he loves so dearly. She was in disguise to escape an unwanted royal lover and continued the deception in order to tease Harry. Princess Abenaide and Harry marry, and their wedding is blessed with the prayers of the hundreds the perfect young man had befriended.
Critical Evaluation:
With a text that exceeds three hundred thousand words, about five times as long as an average modern novel, The Fool of Quality was originally published by installment in five volumes. Although it achieved success in its original form, the book became better known through a single-volume abridgment by John Wesley. It is a didactic work that does not readily fit any traditional category. It most nearly resembles the sentimental novel, a form pioneered in English by such writers as Samuel Richardson, Laurence Sterne, and Henry Mackenzie. On the other hand, its loosely knit, episodic plot, its sporadic exotic adventures, and its idealistic theme of constantly righting wrongs link it with the picaresque tradition, specifically with Miguel de Cervantes’ El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha (1605, 1615; Don Quixote de la Mancha ; 1612-1620).
The preface establishes a tone of satire; Brooke assails his society for its self-indulgence, luxury, and greed and denounces these vices as threats to the nation. Although the novel includes little direct satire, occasional character names such as Lord Freelove, Mr. Sneer, Lady Cribbage, and Miss Trinket suggest satire against the vanity and superficiality of the upper class. Despite the novel’s profession of egalitarianism, however, most of the commoners turn out to be gentle folk whose true identities have been either lost or concealed. In the end Brooke has his protagonist marry a Moroccan princess who, he has just learned, is his cousin.
In a general sense, the account of the hero’s education follows the course laid down by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in Émile: Ou, De l’éducation (1762; Émile: Or, Education , 1911). Unschooled in the vanity and hypocrisy that pervade aristocratic society, Henry Clinton receives the ironic epithet “fool.” As the second son of an earl, Henry is a man of quality, yet his father expects that he will have no aristocratic responsibility. He is thus sent from home to be reared in a modest rural setting by the family of his nurse. The simplicity and beauty of nature plus the kind treatment by his foster family lay the foundation for his education in right conduct. Removed by his uncle, Mr. Fenton, Henry gains further advantage through continuing his education by acquiring sound moral principles. Mr. Fenton’s seemingly unlimited wealth enables Henry to learn the importance of compassion and charity in dealing with those less fortunate. An underlying theme, illustrated in the story of the wealthy Mr. Fenton, is that virtue is the road to wealth and power. The middle portion of his education—by the kindly Mr. Clement, a tutor hired by Mr. Fenton—guides the youth in charitable activities.
Mr. Fenton himself directly educates Henry in matters of government, clarifying the English constitution in a lengthy lesson. In addition to a conservative, straightforward account of political entities, the lesson incorporates Rousseau’s principles of popular sovereignty and consent of the governed. With the further assistance of a clergyman, Mr. Meekly, Mr. Fenton educates the young man in religion, their discourse upholding the rational Christianity widely accepted in eighteenth century England. Relying heavily on biblical passages, the account endorses the providential view of history. The unexpected death of Henry’s brother ensures that Henry inherits the title and becomes able to apply all his lessons in virtue and practical power. Henry’s coming to maturity thus portrays Rousseau’s educational philosophy as beneficial and feasible.
As a sentimental novel, the work employs a narrative technique that makes it somewhat less successful than its predecessors. It offers an abundance of emotion, with mature characters fainting, blushing, bursting into tears, or freely embracing—reactions that serve to reinforce Rousseau’s message that emotion is good. The most poignant parts of the narrative, however, are presented from the point of view of a character relating his or her past. Typically, these tales feature pitiable details of suffering, but the reader does not see the wretchedness at first hand through the narrator’s eyes—as happens, for example, in Sterne’s A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy (1768), in which the plight of Maria is indelibly impressed on the memory. Brooke’s method of narration distances the most moving events from the reader and thus reduces their emotional impact. Another narrative technique results in a further disruption of the already slow narrative pace. At the end of most chapters, Brooke includes a dialogue between the Author and Friend, who usually questions the author about the narrative and its themes.
In support of the theme of charity, the plot incorporates astounding coincidence and extravagant improbabilities. Long-lost relatives are recognized and reunited with family members, people live for years under assumed names until their true identity can be revealed, characters disguise themselves to take part in unlikely adventures, and astounding escapes are brought about. For example, as Mr. Fenton is narrating his life to Fanny Goodall, he includes the story of his wealthy servant John. Approaching his death without any living relatives, John resolved to leave his fortune to the next needy person who came to Mr. Fenton’s door. The next arrival was a woman who asked for charity, and a small initial promise elicited her story. Her misfortune came about because her husband, in a fit of jealousy, had mistaken her long-lost brother for a lover and, after stabbing him, had fled. It was learned that the dying John was the husband, formerly Barnaby Tirrell, and the reunion was appropriately tearful. When another recipient of Mr. Fenton’s bounty, Homely, narrates his unfortunate life, it is discovered he had saved Fenton from drowning twenty years earlier.
Its length, heavy didacticism, and departures from realism make The Fool of Quality an unlikely candidate for popular revival. From the standpoint of literary history, however, the work remains significant for its standing as a novel of sentiment, a precursor of the novel of reform.
Further Reading
Baker, Ernest A. The Novel of Sentiment and Gothic Romance . Vol. 5 in The History of the English Novel . 10 vols. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1924-1939. Classifies the novel as sentimental and devotes discussion to its literary allusions and inset stories. Praises the work as the first novel that presents a full and sympathetic account of a boy growing to maturity.
Bellamy, Liz. Commerce, Morality, and the Eighteenth-Century Novel . New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Bellamy’s examination of the eighteenth century novel contains several references to The Fool of Quality that are listed in the index. A two-page discussion of the novel is included in chapter 6, “The Sentimental Novel.”
Foster, James R. History of the Pre-Romantic Novel in England . New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1949. Summarizes portions of the novel and points out incongruities in Brooke’s narrative. An unsympathetic analysis draws attention to the book’s exaggerations.
Probyn, Clive T. English Fiction of the Eighteenth Century, 1700-1789 . London: Longman, 1987. Suggests that Brooke drew upon Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749). Argues that the excesses of sentimentalism and idealism mar Brooke’s didactic purpose.
Scurr, Helen Margaret. Henry Brooke . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1927. Comprehensive and detailed examination of Brooke’s life and career. The chapter on his novels centers on The Fool of Quality , treating it as a flawed narrative that exerted a measurable influence on subsequent fiction.
Shroff, Homai J. The Eighteenth Century Novel: The Idea of the Gentleman . London: Edward Arnold, 1983. Links Brooke with Henry Mackenzie, demonstrating how both differed from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas about the essentials of education for the gentleman. Points out that despite its seeming egalitarianism, the novel usually portrays worthy characters as members of the gentry.
Spacks, Patricia Meyer. “The Novel of Sentiment.” In Novel Beginnings: Experiments in Eighteenth-Century English Fiction . New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006. Spacks’s examination of the eighteenth century English novel includes a discussion of The Fool of Quality as a work of sentimental fiction.