Pamela (1740), authored by Samuel Richardson, is often regarded as the first best-selling novel in history. It narrates the tale of a virtuous servant girl who valiantly strives to escape the persistent advances of her employer. The story unfolds through her letters. Fielding considered the novel to be highly overrated, prompting him to write his first two novels as parodies of it.

Shamela (1741) is the initial parody of Pamela by Fielding. He also structured his narrative as a series of letters, but his protagonist is far from innocent; instead, she is lusty and manipulative.

Joseph Andrews (1742) is a more ambitious parody of Pamela. This time, Fielding changes the protagonist to a male servant—the brother of Pamela—while the predatory employer is Lady Booby. This novel is considered a precursor to Tom Jones.

Don Quixote de la Mancha, written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, was originally published in Spanish in two parts in 1605 and 1615, and in English in 1612 and 1620. This hilarious tale is one of the most beloved novels of all time. Tom Jones shares some of its picaresque elements, including a plot centered on a symbolic journey.

Moll Flanders (1722), another picaresque novel, was penned by Daniel Defoe, who, along with Fielding, is considered one of the key originators of the English novel. Defoe's story also follows a character who grows up without parents. However, Moll Flanders faces very different circumstances than Tom Jones and takes a distinct path in life.

Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray, was published almost exactly one hundred years after Tom Jones, in 1848. Thackeray’s classic novel addresses similar issues and human vices as Fielding’s—particularly vanity and hypocrisy, as encouraged by society—but his characters are more reprehensible, and his novel is darker, though still infused with humor.

Twentieth-Century Interpretations of “Tom Jones” (1968), edited by Martin Battestin, is a collection of essays by modern critics who offer varying perspectives on the novel.