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The Vicar of Wakefield (Penguin English Library)
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The Vicar of Wakefield (Penguin English Library) Paperback - 1982

by Oliver Goldsmith; Contributor-Stephen Coote

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Penguin Classics, 1982-10-28. Paperback. Good.
Used - Good
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Details

  • Title The Vicar of Wakefield (Penguin English Library)
  • Author Oliver Goldsmith; Contributor-Stephen Coote
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Condition Used - Good
  • Pages 224
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Classics, New York
  • Date 1982-10-28
  • Features Bibliography
  • Bookseller's Inventory # SONG0140431594
  • ISBN 9780140431599 / 0140431594
  • Weight 0.36 lbs (0.16 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.76 x 5.1 x 0.56 in (19.71 x 12.95 x 1.42 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Reading level 1290
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: British
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Domestic fiction, Clergy - Family relationships
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Summary

"The greatest object in the universe, says a certain philosopher, is a good man struggling with adversity."

When Dr Primrose loses his fortune in a disastrous investment, his idyllic life in the country is shattered and he is forced to move with his wife and six children to an impoverished living on the estate of Squire Thornhill. Taking to the road in pursuit of his daughter, who has been seduced by the rakish Squire, the beleaguered Primrose becomes embroiled in a series of misadventures – encountering his long-lost son in a travelling theatre company and even spending time in a debtor’s prison. Yet Primrose, though hampered by his unworldliness and pride, is sustained by his unwavering religious faith. In The Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith gently mocks many of the literary conventions of his day – from pastoral and romance to the picaresque – infusing his story of a hapless clergyman with warm humour and amiable social satire.

In his introduction, Stephen Coote discusses Goldsmith’s eventful life, the literary devices used in the novel, and its central themes of Christianity, justice and the family. This edition also includes a bibliography and notes.

First line

I WAS ever of opinion, that the honest man who married and brought up a large family, did more service than he who continued single, and only talked of population.

About the author

Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774) was born in Ireland. Having studied at Trinity College, Dublin, he studied medicine at Edinburgh and Leyden after being rejected by the Church of Ireland. Settling in London, he was writing professionally by 1757 and became a friend of Johnson. Best known for She Stoops to Conquer, The Vicar of Wakefield is his only novel and is generally considered his finest work.

Stephen Coote was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge and Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of critical studies of Chaucer, T.S. Eliot and English literature of the Middle Ages, as well as biographies of Byron and William Morris.