Goldsmith: Selected Essays

Oliver Goldsmith, described in a eulogy written by Dr. Johnson as 'a poet, naturalist, and historian, who left scarcely any style of writing untouched', became one of the great figures of the eighteenth-century literary scene. A character as absurd as he was talented, Goldsmith was best known for his novels, poems and plays, such as The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) and She Stoops to Conquer (1771). Yet Goldsmith also composed a number of excellent essays. As this volume's editor J. H. Lobban argues, 'there is not a single feature of [The Vicar of Wakefield's] style that you will not find ...in his essays'. This volume, originally published in 1910, brings together thirty-two of the Anglo-Irish writer's critical essays, with an aim to illustrate the variety and vibrancy of his prose. These essays are not only characterised by their beauty and lucidity, but by the creative genius of their composer.

ISBN 0521126703   Pages 164 ISBN13 9780521126700 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 190 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Imprint Cambridge University Press   Height (mm) 203 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 127 Publication date 11 Mar 2010   Spine width (mm) 10 DEWEY 824.6   Academic level Professional / Scholarly DEWEY edition DC22

		Preface
		Introduction
I		English Pride		1
II		Characteristics of Different Countries		4
III		A Visit to Westminster Abbey		8
IV		The Character of the Man in Black		14
V		The History of the Man in Black		17
VI		A Description of a Club of Authors		24
VII		The Proceedings of the Club of Authors		27
VIII		Sights and Monsters		33
IX		A Bookseller's Visit		37
X		The Character of Beau Tibbs		41
XI		A Visit to Beau Tibbs		44
XXI		Happiness and Show		48
XIII		Mad Dogs		50
XIV		An Evening at Vauxhall		55
XV		A Little Great Man		59
XVI		Anecdotes of Poets		63
XVII		Imitation in Literature		66
XVIII		The Courts of Justice		69
XIX		A Coronation		72
XX		Funeral Elegies		76
XXI		Finding Famous Men		78
XXII		A City Night-Piece		82
XXIII		Travellers' Tales		84
XXIV		A Reverie		88
XXV		The Sentiments of a Frenchman on the Temper of the English		94
XXVI		The Characteristics of Greatness		97
		More...

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