When Fielding set out for Portugal in 1754, in the vain hope of recovering his health, he was already gravely ill. He writes of the daily events of the difficult voyage, the eccentricities of Captain Veal, the abuses suffered by the sailors, the devotion of his wife and daughter, the terror of storms, a sunset and moonrise at sea, and the details of his food and drink. He describes the Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon as “possibly the production of the most disagreeable hours which ever haunted the author”.

Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon is a travel narrative. It’s about the sailing voyage from England to Portugal in the mid Eighteenth Century. It was to be Henry Fielding’s last work, as his failing health proved unable to persevere much longer after the voyage.

Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones.

Aside from his literary achievements, he has a significant place in the history of law-enforcement, having founded (with his half-brother John) what some have called London's first police force, the Bow Street Runners, using his authority as a magistrate.

His younger sister, Sarah, also became a successful writer.