The texts of many Eighteenth Century books are full of interpolations by printers and may contain thousands of edits by the author, too. What Dr. Brack has done is to identify and evaluate EVERY variant to assemble a DEFINITIVE TEXT. He's spent a lifetime tracking down what Smollett actually wrote. If you want to know what Smollet wrote, and not his printer, read an edition that Dr. Brack has collated. These volumes are triumphs of scholarship as well as a service to readers.

I read this book for the first time over 20 years ago, and I must admit it shaped my life. When I have kids (twin boys preferably) I will see to it that Machiavelli's Prince, and Smollet's Fathom are mandatory reading.

As you are lead through the life and adventures of FCF, you realize just how villanous a handsone dandy can be. Whistling as he makes love to your daughter so as not to let on that he is picking the lock on your safe with a toothpick between his toes definately displays a sense of arrogance that one must admire!

If you ever saw Sheridan's play "The Rivals," you might have heard this book mentioned. It's the book the daughter doesn't want her mother to know she is reading.

It pre-dates Jane Eyre, but it has that poor-lonely-orphan-wronged-by-the-world quality to it. Picture Jane Eyre as a young, red-headed Scotsman with a thin-skin, bad temper and active libido. Roderick's going to London reminded me of D'Artagnan arrival in Paris in "The Three Musketeers". His mere presence is often a cause of confict. There are insults, fights, brawls, battles, sea clashes, duels, and some more insults. Roderick is the world's punching bag and his own pride and scheming won't let him say, "I've had enough." All the while his hot blood is leading him into haylofts, bedrooms and yet more trouble.

Will this 18th-century punk ever wise up? Read for yourself. I suggest the Oxford World's Classics version. I didn't expect the footnotes, but they were a great boon. The language is archaic in places, so keep a dictionary handy.

his great novel, written in 1771, is one of those books that is written so much in the present moment of its own time that it becomes a valuable and fascinating time capsule for future generations. There is no more entertaining way to visit another time and place. There is no need for you to come to the novel already knowing anything about the eighteenth century, because Smollett has his sharp observant mind and all five of his senses open to his world for you--here you will read all of the sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and most memorably of all (for better and for worse) the *smells* of what surrounds him.

The grumpy-old-man-with-a-heart-of-gold Matthew Bramble takes his family and assorted hangers-on for a tour of Great Britain, visiting Bath, London, and many other places along the way. For lovers of Scotland, you are in for a treat here, as Smollett writes this novel as an important "P.R." job for his homeland to his skeptical English readers. The descriptions of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and the Hebrides make you want to book your airline tickets right away; Smollett has an eye for those aspects of the Scottish landscape and Scottish people that haven't really changed in the last 250 years.

This is an epistolary novel, written entirely in the form of letters with no central narrator.
The strength of this format is that it allows the reader to see the same places and events from the (sometimes radically different) perspective of more than one person. As a result, you get comedy, tragedy, farce, romance, satire, and a good adventure story all in one enjoyable package.

One word of caution, though: because of the epistolary format and the travelogue format, you shouldn't really approach "Humphry Clinker" with the expectations of finding a strong unified plot. This is something that we get mostly from the novels of the late eighteenth century and certainly the Victorian novels of the nineteenth century. There IS a plot--a good one--but just don't expect the plot to be the star of the show. If you read it as a series of memorable and sharply drawn sketches and characters and places, and for how well it captures what is unique to the time and place in which it is written, I think you will enjoy it a great deal.

One of the great things about these Amazon customer reviews is that they can alert you to wonderful books that you would otherwise not consider reading. "Humphry Clinker" is a prime example. An eighteenth-century epistolary novel may not sound too enticing and I would guess that few people other than students whose courses oblige them to, would read it these days. Well, I am here to tell you that you should! It is social satire at its brilliant best. Smollett satirized English society mercilessly, but was even harder on his fellow Scots. The result is a novel that is a continual and wicked joy to read.

The characters are finely drawn and their correspondence is written in very individual voices. We follow their adventures as they journey through England and Scotland in the years before revolution in America and France changed the world forever. It is a world obsessed with social class, money and advantageous marriage (so why did I say it changed for ever!). There is plenty of sharp humor and a deal of profound insight into human nature. Smollett's last and best novel, it is a wise and mature journal of Mankind's folly.

Incidentally, the graphic description of the spa town of Bath will make you never want to drink spa water again. Reading that particular chapter requires a strong stomach.

Full of social satire. A comedy with pathos. Insightful verbal blunders. This picaresque book of travel letters is a hoot with a most satisfying conclusion as the characters get their come-uppance and rewards. I love the distinct and lively images that shine through the puns, word games, and allusions.