Jonathan Swift, a Hypocrite Reversed: A Critical Biography (Oxford Lives) [Paperback]

David Nokes (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192820559 | ISBN-13: 978-0192820556 | Publication Date: July 1987

Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 1985.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This biography is a new scholarly ex amination of Swift and his perilous times. It cannot substitute for Irvin Eh renpreis's massive Swift, The Man, His Works and The Age (1962-83; see LJ 3/ 1/84), but it will be very useful to read ers seeking a more succinct look at a complex and often contradictory his torical figure. Nokes offers fresh in sights into the Dean's public and pri vate lives, maintaining a balanced view of even the most controversial ques tions, e.g., Swift's relationships with the women "Stella" and "Vanessa." The useful discussions of major works are smoothly integrated into the bio graphical sections, and overall Nokes succeeds admirably in his goal of giving "a portrait of the whole man in his mul tifarious roles." Recommended for all subject collections. Starr E. Smith, Georgetown Univ. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr (Txt) (July 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192820559
• ISBN-13: 978-0192820556
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,265,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine biography of a frustrated man, February 28, 2008

By 

Mark Klobas (Tempe, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jonathan Swift, A Hypocrite Reversed: A Critical Biography (Hardcover)

Though remembered today mainly as the author of Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics), Jonathan Swift was known to his contemporaries for much more than that. In this biography, David Nokes details the span of Swift's eventful life, from his childhood in Dublin to his time as a propagandist and disappointed placeseeker in England, through to his later years as an author and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. The Swift that emerges from these pages is a frustrated man, filled with disappointment at receiving less than his perceived due. Yet such disappointment provided the acidic edge to the satirical writings that made him famous from his day to ours.

Nokes's biography is an admirable study of Swift's life and times, one that attempts to penetrate the mystery that surrounded much of his life. He does not hesitate in hypothesizing about the many decisions he made and speculating on such persistent questions as his possible marriage to Esther Johnson. Though Nokes does not address every work that Swift produced, he does analyze his subject's major writings for the insights they possess into Swift's personality and views. He supports his arguments with frequent quotes from his subject's many works, though reading the book alongside a collection such as Major Works (Oxford World's Classics) as a supplement helps to understand Swift better still, as well as providing exposure to some unjustly neglected writings from this great author. For anyone seeking a perceptive study of Swift's life that is more digestible than Irvin Ehrenpreis's monumental three-volume study, this is the book to read.