Oliver Goldsmith

Broschiertes Buch

The Vicar of Wakefield - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

Beschreibung

The Vicar of Wakefield, subtitled, 'A Tale Supposed to be written by Himself' - is a novel by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774). It was one of the most popular and widely read eighteenth century novels, displaying the author's belief in the innate goodness of human beings. 'The Vicar of Wakefield' can also be read however, as a satire on the sentimental novel and its values, as the vicar's values are apparently not compatible with the real 'sinful' world. Whichever interpretation the reader takes, it is a story to be appreciated by both young and old alike - loved and cited by writers as talented and diverse as Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Charlotte Brontë and Goethe. The book further contains a series of dazzling colour and black-and-white illustrations - by a master of the craft; Arthur Rackham (1867 - 1939). One of the most celebrated painters of the British Golden Age of Illustration (which encompassed the years from 1850 until the start of the First World War), Rackham's artistry is quite simply, unparalleled. Throughout his career, he developed a unique style, combining haunting humour with dream-like romance. Presented alongside the text, his illustrations further refine and elucidate Oliver Goldsmith's enthralling storytelling.

Autor

Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish author, playwright, dramatist, and poet who lived from 10 November 1728 to 4 April 1774. Goldsmith claimed to a biographer that he was born on November 10, 1728, yet his exact birthdate and year are unknown. He was either born in the Smith Hill House in the vicinity of Elphin, County Roscommon, or at Pallas, close to Ballymahon, County Longford, Ireland. His schooling seems to have mostly given him a liking for expensive clothing, card games, Irish tunes, and playing the flute. Goldsmith, a perpetual debtor and gambling addict, wrote a ton for London's publishers while working as a hack writer on Grub Street. To publish his 1758 translation of the memoirs of the Huguenot Jean Marteilhe, he assumed the alias ""James Willington"" at this time. His contemporaries regarded him as envious, impulsive, and disorganized, with a history of planning to immigrate to America but failing because he missed his ship. The incorrect diagnosis of his kidney ailment before his untimely death in 1774 may have contributed to it. Goldsmith was laid to rest in London's Temple Church. At the location of his interment, a memorial honoring him had previously been erected, but it had been destroyed in a 1941 air strike.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Pook Press
• Seitenzahl: 260
• Erscheinungstermin: 18. März 2013
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 254mm x 203mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 834g
• ISBN-13: 9781447477976
• ISBN-10: 1447477979
• Artikelnr.: 37732430