A HISTORY OF THE EARTH AND ANIMATED NATURE (SIX PARTS IN TWO VOLUMES); Wth an Introductory View of the Animal Kingdom, Translated from the French of Baron Cuvier, and Copious Notes Embracing Accounts of New Discoveries in Natural History; A Life of the Author, By Washington Irving; and Carefully Prepared Index to the Whole Work

London, England: A. Fullarton and Co, 1853. Hardcover. Very Good. Matching set of two: Large Octavos, 10.5 in. x 6.6 in. Illustrated with forty-four full-page hand-colored plates. Green half calf with blind tooling over textured green cloth boards. Gilt title to red panel, and five-raised bands bordered by gilt bars to spines. Marbled edges. Light rubbing to extremities, and sunning to spines. Some discoloration to cloth boards. Previous owner's bookplate to front pastedowns. Hinges and spines tight. Color plates are bright and sharp.
Volume I: pp. liv, 536, [68] (Seventeen color plates). Light bubbling to rear board.
Volume II: pp. 541. Twenty-seven color plates interspersed. Oliver Goldsmith, one of the most popular 18th century English writers, lived a fascinating life of contradictions, between his unquestionable brilliance and self-destructive tendencies. Many details of Goldsmith's life are not precisely known, partially because he seems to have frequently lied to his official biographer, about details as innocuous as his birth year or as significant as his lineage.

Goldsmith was born sometime between 1728 and 1731 to a poor Irish family. He was one of seven children, and his father was a county vicar. When Goldsmith was still young, his father's death forced him to rely on a wealthy uncle for support. In his early days, he was frequently bullied because of facial disfigurement caused by smallpox. Goldsmith never bothered to hide his Irish origins, even maintaining his brogue despite the fact that it would have been considered low-class once he later settled in London amongst more esteemed company. ... He was always noted for his intelligence, and earned a Bachelor of Arts at Trinity College, Dublin in 1750. While there, he participated in a student riot and was publicly admonished for his role. '

Despite a strong acumen for literary work, Goldsmith was unable to settle on a career for a long time, flittering between the church, law, and education. In 1752, he began to study medicine in Edinburgh. Though there is no evidence that he ever completed his course of study, he did later practice medicine, and in fact referred to himself as Dr. Goldsmith throughout his career. Goldsmith traveled for many years, until settling in London in 1756. It was here that he finally turned to literature, and his career took off.

Though he made a lucrative living through writing history books and literary journals, Goldsmith also lived a free-wheeling life of gambling and generous extravagance that kept him in debt.. It was during this time period that Dr. Samuel Johnson, one of England's most famous men of letters, became a great admirer of Goldsmith's work. He invited Goldsmith to join his exclusive Turk's Head Club, and through Johnson's patronage, Goldsmith began to publish his first master works, including the novel The Vicar of Wakefield. This novel, along with his masterful comic play She Stoops to Conquer, found great success, and remain his best-loved works... Goldsmith died suddenly on April 4, 1774, after suffering from a kidney disease

During his life, Goldsmith was equally known for his brilliance and for his insecurity. Always willing to act foolishly, he could come off as extremely generous and gregarious, or as conceited and pretentious. Some biographers see in him a constant contradiction between the high-class post he earned through talent and the low-class heritage he refused to totally eschew. In short, Oliver Goldsmith is one of the most contradictory of his day's canonical writers, a quality that helps very much to understand the complications inherent in his work.