From Booklist
Divided into four parts, this volume in the Critical Companion series chronicles Jonathan Swift's life and works. Part 1 presents Swift's biography in a concise 6 pages. Part 2 provides entries for Swift's major and minor works, alphabetically arranged from his Abstract of the History of England to The Yahoo's Overthrow. Entries vary in length depending upon a work's significance. For example, the entry for Gulliver's Travels spans 64 pages. A chapter-by-chapter synopsis is followed by commentary; entries for characters; entries for places, ships, and terms; and a further-reading list.
Part 3, "Related Entries," consists of brief A-Z descriptions of family members, friends, critics, and other individuals who played a role in Swift's life and work as well as places, themes, and other topics. Part 4 consists of appendixes, including a chronology of Swift's life and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.
This volume is an accessible introduction for those studying Swift, his sometimes controversial writings, and his impact on literature. Recommended for high-school, academic, and large public libraries. Carol Sue Harless
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
Best known as the author of "Gulliver's Travels", Jonathan Swift is one of literature's great satirists. Born and educated in Ireland, Swift became a politician and clergyman in England, where he wrote essays, pamphlets, poems, and fiction that addressed the political issues and social conditions of his time. In "Gulliver's Travels", he introduced the allegorical settings of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the island of the Houyhnhnms, as well as the term "Yahoos," in a playful but dark satirical reflection on mankind. His other works include "A Modest Proposal", "A Tale of a Tub", "The Battle of the Books", "Journal to Stella", and "Drapier's Letters", among others. "Critical Companion to Jonathan Swift" contains extensive analyses of all Swift's major works. This accessible volume also examines his influences, including family, friends, relatives, and acquaintances, as well as important places where he lived and worked. In this single-volume reference, admirers, general readers, and lovers of literature will discover hundreds of entries covering every aspect of Swift's life and work. Additional features include a chronology of Swift's life and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources. This volume will guide readers through Swift's fascinating life and work and illuminate his often bitter but brilliant reflections on humankind. Coverage includes: a concise, but thorough biography of Swift; entries on all Swift's major and minor works, with extensive commentary on the major works, including "Gulliver's Travels", "A Modest Proposal", "A Tale of a Tub", "The Battle of the Books", "Journal to Stella", "Drapier's Letters", and many more; entries on people important to Swift, including his friends, relatives, associates, and critics; and examinations of the major intellectual, religious, political, and literary influences on Swift, topics and themes in his work, and more.
