BLACKWELL CRITICAL BIOGRAPHIES

Jonathan Swift, the conservative, Anglo-Irish Protestant clergyman, appears far removed from the controversial, oftentimes radical positions expressed in his works. Swift was seen as a hero by the Irish, a defender against English exploitation, yet was contemptuous of his countrymen. He hated the English, but he longed to live in England. Although much is known about Swift, in many ways he remains an enigma.

In The Life of Jonathan Swift, author Thomas Lockwood offers an engaging account of the personal history and extraordinary imagination of the foremost satirist in the English language. Exploring classic satires such as Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Tale of a Tub and An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, this highly readable critical biography describes the historical and modern critical context of Swift's satires, poetry, political pamphlets and essays, private manuscripts, personal letters, and more.

Bringing Swift's writing and creative sensibility into the narrative of his life, The Life of Jonathan Swift is an essential resource for general readers of literature and literary biography, university instructors and researchers, and undergraduate students of English literature.