Synopses & Reviews
The eighteenth-century picaresque masterpiece- now in a new edition A triumph of English satire, Humphry Clinker was published just three months prior to its author's death in 1771. At its heart is Matthew Bramble, a gout-ridden misanthrope who travels Britain with his nephew, niece, spinster sister, and manservant, the trusty Humphry Clinker. In a narrative peopled with pimps, drunkards, and con men, Bramble's pessimistic views on the world's degeneracy- and his eagerness to express them-betray the author's belief that his countrymen were suffering from an acute lack of sense and sobriety. Boisterous and keenly observant, Humphry Clinker is a delicious send-up of eighteenth-century society.
Synopsis
Matthew Bramble, a gout-ridden misanthrope, travels Britain with his nephew, niece, spinster sister and man-servant, the trusty Humphry Clinker. In poor health, Bramble sees the world as one of degeneracy and raucous overcrowding, and will not hesitate to let his companions know his feelings on the matter. Peopled with pimps, drunkards, decadents and con-men, Humphrey Clinker displays Smollett s ferociously pessimistic view of mankind, and his belief that the luxury of eighteenth-century England existence was the enemy of sense and sobriety. Presented in the form of letters from six very different characters, and full of joyful puns and double entendres, Humphrey Clinker is now recognised as a boisterous and observant masterpiece of English satire. Jeremy Lewis s introduction examines why Smollett has become an unjustly neglected figure of English literature, and how the time in which he lived became a crucible for his work. This new edition contains notes, a chronology and suggested reading.
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About the Author
Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) was a Scottish physician and writer. His novel
Ferdinand Count Fathom (1753) is a precursor of Gothic fiction.
Jeremy Lewis is the author of two highly praised volumes of autobiography, Playing for Time and Kindred Spirits, and of biographies of Cyril Connolly and Tobias Smollett.
Shaun Regan is a lecturer in English at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland.