Jonathan Swift: His Life and His WorldJonathan Swift is best remembered today as the author of Gulliver’s Travels, the satiric fantasy that quickly became a classic and has remained in print for nearly three centuries. Yet Swift also wrote many other influential works, was a major political and religious figure in his time, and became a national hero, beloved for his fierce protest against English exploitation of his native Ireland. What is really known today about the enigmatic man behind these accomplishments? Can the facts of his life be separated from the fictions?div /DIVdivIn this deeply researched biography, Leo Damrosch draws on discoveries made over the past thirty years to tell the story of Swift’s life anew. Probing holes in the existing evidence, he takes seriously some daring speculations about Swift’s parentage, love life, and various personal relationships and shows how Swift’s public version of his life—the one accepted until recently—was deliberately misleading. Swift concealed aspects of himself and his relationships, and other people in his life helped to keep his secrets./DIVdiv. / |
Contents
Prologue | 1 |
1 Beginnings | 9 |
2 A Patron and Two Mysteries | 33 |
3 Long Choosing and Beginning Late | 62 |
4 Moor Park Once More | 79 |
5 The Village and the Castle | 94 |
6 London | 113 |
7 A Very Positive Young Man | 125 |
19 Political Peril | 286 |
20 The Irish Countryside | 297 |
21 Stella | 307 |
22 Vanessa in Ireland | 320 |
23 National Hero | 338 |
24 The Astonishing Travels | 357 |
25 Gulliver in England | 379 |
26 Disillusionment and Loss | 393 |
8 The Scandalous Tub | 131 |
9 Swift and God | 147 |
10 First Fruits | 154 |
11 The War and the Whigs | 164 |
12 Swift the Londoner | 177 |
13 At the Summit | 191 |
14 The Journal to Stella | 215 |
15 Enter Vanessa | 231 |
16 Tory Triumph | 241 |
17 Tory Collapse | 253 |
18 Reluctant Dubliner | 267 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Anne appeared believe bishop Bolingbroke called Cathedral chapter Church close Corr Dean Deane Swift death Delany described Dublin Ehrenpreis England English gave give Gulliver Gulliver’s Travels hand head History Ireland Irish John Johnson Jonathan Swift Journal Kilkenny kind King knew known Lady later least letter lines lived London look Lord means mentioned mind Moor Park nature never ofthe once Oxford perhaps person poem political Pope present Press probably published Queen quoted reason says seems sent servants Sheridan shillings Sir William soon Stella story Street suggests sure Swift Tale tell Temple thing Thomas thought told took turned University Vanessa wanted Whigs whole writing wrote young