The Vicar of Wakefield
by Oliver Goldsmith
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good+
- Seller
-
York, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
THE VICAR of WAKEFIELD
by
Oliver Goldsmith
With twenty-five coloured illustrations
by G.E.Brook
1904
London. J.M. Dent & Co.
DESCRIPTION
Bumpus Binding
(iv) + 242 + (iv)
Book measures 195mm x 120mm approximately.
Superbly bound by Bumpus in full tan calf. Spine with five gilt-dotted raised bands with glit-boxed compartments and author, title in gilt author and date to spine foot in gilt. Single gilt-riled fillet border to boards. Richly decorated inner gilt dentelle work with further gilt fillet borders and cornices to both boards with plain end-papers and paste-downs. All page edges in gilt.
Twenty-five wonderful coloured illustrations by C. E. Brook throughout.
CONDITION
The binding is in very good condition and holding very firm. Boards and spine exhibit a few minor scuffs and surface scratches with some wear to corners, and mild rubbing to upper and lower hinges. Internally the pages are remarkably clean with just a very mild hint of some light toning to front end-papers. I doubt the book has been opened to read.
A very lovely binding in great condition – just beautiful.
INTERESTING
Oliver Goldsmith (1728 to 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright and poet, who is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), and his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770). He is also thought to have written the classic children's tale The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (1765).
In 1744, Goldsmith went up to Trinity College, Dublin. Neglecting his studies in theology and law, he fell to the bottom of his class. In 1747, along with four other undergraduates, he was expelled for a riot in which they attempted to storm the Marshalsea Prison.
Oliver Goldsmith's hugely successful novel, The Vicar of Wakefield of 1766 remained for generations one of the most highly regarded and beloved works of eighteenth-century fiction. It depicts the fall and rise of the Primrose family, presided over by the benevolent vicar, the narrator of a fairy-tale plot of impersonation and deception, the abduction of a beautiful heroine and the machinations of an aristocratic villain. By turns comic and sentimental, the novel's popularity owes much to its recognizable depiction of domestic life and loving family relationships.
In literary history books, The Vicar of Wakefield is often described as a sentimental novel, which displays the belief in the innate goodness of human beings. But it can also be read as a satire on the sentimental novel and its values, as the vicar's values are apparently not compatible with the real "sinful" world. It is only with Sir William Thornhill's help that he can get out of his calamities. Moreover, an analogy can be drawn between Mr. Primrose's suffering and the Book of Job. This is particularly relevant to the question of why evil exists.
The novel is mentioned in George Eliot's Middlemarch, Stendhal's The Life of Henry Brulard, Arthur Schopenhauer's "The Art of Being Right", Jane Austen's Emma, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Sarah Grand's The Heavenly Twins, Charlotte Brontë's The Professor and Villette, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
Synopsis
"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.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Melmoth Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- MB0150
- Title
- The Vicar of Wakefield
- Author
- Oliver Goldsmith
- Illustrator
- C. E. Brook
- Format/Binding
- Bumpus
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good+
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- J. M. Dent
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1904
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
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About Melmoth Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Dentelle
- Borders on the inner edge of a book with a lacy pattern, most often gilt. Popular in France during the 18th century on covers of...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...
- Raised Band(s)
- Raised bands refer to the ridges that protrude slightly from the spine on leather bound books. The bands are created in the...