# Mr. Fitzpatrick — The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling character guide

> Mr. Fitzpatrick in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Fitzpatrick, Mr. Brian Fitzpatrick

**First appearance:** 0001-the-history-of-tom-jones-a-foundling

## Snapshot

A hot-tempered Irish gentleman and self-styled man of law, forever hunting his wife Harriet and ready to duel anyone in his path.

## Who they are

Fitzpatrick has abandoned a clerk's desk for the grander trade of gentleman, and he carries both its bluster and its thin skin. Convinced his wife has run off, he pursues her across the country, turning up at inns and magistrates' hearings with accusations and drawn swords. His jealousy and litigiousness keep the road plot boiling, and his encounters with Tom push the hero toward fresh danger and fresh misunderstanding.

## In the story

### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/ii)

The Irish gentleman who mistakenly bursts into Mrs. Waters's room, believing she is his wife.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/iii)

Arrives at the inn, mistaken for a thief; generous but impoverished, having spent his wife's fortune.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/vi)

Rises and comes downstairs, then rushes upstairs to surprise his wife after Maclachlan's suspicion.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/vii)

Assists Squire Western in the legal proceedings, claims kinship, and later departs with Mrs. Waters after his wife escapes.

### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/iv)

Mrs. Fitzpatrick's husband; depicted as handsome and gallant at Bath but later becomes a 'wild Irishman'.

### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/v)

Revealed as a surly, deceitful husband who married Mrs. Fitzpatrick for her ready money and treats her with coldness and contempt.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/vii)

Mrs. Fitzpatrick's husband; accused of keeping a mistress and returning only to secure her fortune.

### [Book XVI, Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/x)

Confronts Tom Jones outside his wife's lodgings, challenges him to a duel, and is wounded, believed to be mortal.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as being wounded in the duel, with the surgeon giving little hope for recovery.

### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/chapters/ix)

Wounded in a duel with Jones, he is under a surgeon's care and is reported to be out of danger.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/characters/mr_fitzpatrick
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_history_of_tom_jones_a_foundling_se/characters