A fresh view of the life, work and wit of Jonathan Swift, the first of Ireland’s truly great writers, presented through his poetry, fiction, epigrams, social satires and personal letters.
Category: Literature
Series:
Best-Loved Irish Writers
An attractive and approachable selection of the work of the first of Ireland’s truly great writers, Jonathan Swift. Extracts from his fiction, social satires, poems both lyrical and scatological, essays in fantasy, epigrams, and personal letters present, along with the editor’s introductory pieces, the twin stories of Swift’s controversial public career and of his unusual, conflicted, private life. Whether he was mocking the English king and aristocracy in Gulliver’s Travels, castigating the self-deluding vanities of ladies of fashion, discussing garden design with the woman he loved or intervening on behalf of the underprivileged poor of Dublin who worshipped him, Swift was unique, and it should be no surprise that his exploits became a subject of native Gaelic folklore. With Emma Byrne’s striking illustrations, this book is an ideal introduction to the genius whose thought and wit dominated the half-forgotten world of early 18th century Ireland.
John Wyse Jackson was born in Kilkenny in 1953, and educated in Dublin. His previous works on Oscar Wilde are Aristotle at Afternoon Tea: the Rare Oscar Wilde and Wilde about St Louis, an account of Oscar’s two days in the American city in 1882. Other books, either solo or in collaboration, include Myles Before Myles: a Selection of the Earlier Writings of Flann O’Brien, James Joyce's Dubliners: An Annotated and Illustrated Edition, Phenolphthalein: A Fictional Quest for the Eighth Plot, John Stanislaus Joyce: The Life of James Joyce’s Father, Flann O’Brien at War, We All Want to Change the World: A Life of John Lennon, Dublin: Poetry of Place and, with the Ulster artist Hector McDonnell, Ireland’s Other Poetry: Anonymous to Zozimus, Ulster’s Other Poetry and Dublin’s Other Poetry.
An occasional contributor to the Sunday Times, New Statesman, Spectator etc., and to numerous Irish publications, John has written, lectured and broadcast on various matters in Ireland, Britain and the United States. For many years he was joint owner/manager of John Sandoe’s Bookshop in Chelsea, London, before returning to Ireland in 2003 with his wife, Ruth, and their children. Currently he is generally to be found in Zozimus Bookshop (www.zozimusbookshop.com), with a large secondhand and antiquarian stock at 86 Main Street, Gorey, County Wexford, where he hosts a regular Ulysses study group and publishes the occasional book, usually of local interest.
this wonderful treasure. Loving the insight into the crazy genius of Jonathan Swift
handsome and entertaining
beautifully produced … for fans of Swift this is a welcome publication
