John Buncle

by Thomas Amory

John Buncle is a novel written by Thomas Amory. It was first published in 1756 and is a satirical and philosophical work that explores themes of love, religion, and morality. The book follows the adventures of the eponymous John Buncle, a young man who is searching for his place in the world. Along the way, he meets a variety of interesting characters, including a group of eccentric scholars, a beautiful young woman named Arabella, and a wise old hermit. Through his encounters, Buncle learns about the complexities of love and the importance of living a virtuous life. The novel is also notable for its use of allegory and its commentary on the social and political climate of 18th-century England. Overall, John Buncle is a witty and thought-provoking work that continues to be studied and enjoyed by readers today.It was 12 o'clock by the time we arrived at this water-fall, and therefore I sat down by the side of it to dine, before I attempted to get up to the top of the precipice, and see from whence this water came. While my eyes were entertained with the descending scene, I feasted on a piece of venison pasty, and some fine ale, which, among other provisions, Mrs. Burcot had ordered her servants to put up for but as I was thus happily engaged, my lad, O Fin, had climbed up to the top of the water-fall, and was going to land from a tree that grew out of the rocky mountain, near the summit of the hill, when his foot slipt, and he came tumbling down in a miserable way. I expected him in pieces on the ground, as I had him full in my view.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.

492 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1766

About the author

Thomas Amory (c. 1691–1788) lived in Dublin and London. He is best known for his extraordinary “autobiography,” The Life of John Buncle, published in two volumes (1756 and 1766).

Reviews

[Nathan "N.R." Gaddis]

Mine this 1904 Dutton hd ; all pages beautifully cut.

A mere US$15.50 from the village=bookshop.

Pretty much this edition ::
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookD...
but mine in slightly different boarding and without a date on title=page.

Rare in any edition. But now lots of shit=scans floating around.

My introducor, Ernest A. Baker, says, "The soul of Francis Rabelais passed into John (sic) Amory)" [sic! Baker says it not except that he be quoting Hazlitt ; that would be Hazlitt calling Thomas "John" ("John Thomas"?) ; )]

The blurb for the recent Irish edition, the only modern edited edition (apparently!) says "Published three years before the appearance of Laurence Sterne’s more famous Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy (1759–67), Amory’s novel presents us with a work of comparable complexity, both colloquial and bookish, learned and facetious. It is, as Leigh Hunt described it, ‘a book unlike any other in the language, perhaps in the world’."
http://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/a...

I've been enjoying these ancient editions ; despite my typical pouncing upon the very latest in editions and translations! -- ie, the forthcoming Oxfording of Dorothy Richardson is fantastic news! (cont'd next comment)

But of necessity I've been picking up these ancient wrecks of paper -- Siebenkäs or, Flower, Fruit and Thorn Pieces; or, The Wedded Life, Death, and Marriage of Firmian Stanislaus Siebenkæs, Parish Advocate in the Burgh of Kuhschnappel. and Adventures of Gil Blas and A Calendar of Sin and this--pretty much out of necessity.

There is still so much BURIED!!!!

Let's do the Moore(eh!) :: [from v.II, check your index] "By using a rather ludicrous, word-mad narrator, by playing fast and loose with history, and by incorporating modes of ficiton into his work, Urquhart [, Thomas, early Rabelais=translator] created something that resembles an avant-garde novel, one that anticipates fictional oddities like A Tale of a Tube, John Buncle , Tristram Shandy, and ultimately the lexiphanic novels of Frederick Rolfe, Alexander Theroux, and Mark Leyner” ;; --

--:: “No one held that conviction [ie, “the growing conviction that a ‘novel’ could do anything and include anything the novelist wanted it to”] more firmly than the Anglo-Irish writer Thomas Amory (1691?-1788), author of one of the most eccentric novels of the 18th century, The Life of John Buncle (1756; part 2, 1766).” ;; --

--:: turn to your Moore, v.II. pp791ff for the Moore(eh!) discussion of Amory(eh!)’s Buncle(eh!).

Moore :: “(There’s one Wallace-size monster spread over 17 pages in the original edition, with two huge footnotes of its own.)”

I fear that Moore may have BURIED this novel further, given that immediately following his discussion of it, he digresses upon the question of “A Brief Digression on the Novel That Changed My Life” and then launches into this thing about Tristram Shandy. So, yeah, don’t let that shadow hide this Buncle from view.

If you need another list, and who don’t?, gander into Moore’s page 800 (still in v.II) where you’ll get a little of “the novel’s typographical eccentricities, digressive tendencies, and metafictional asides” which weren’t new with Sterne. But, yeah, Sterne stands out!

Of lists -- of v. the first of Moore(huh?)-- you’ll find Buncle in both the Rabelais’ Codpiece and the Criti=fictional lists. He ain’t a Shandian Spawn cuz he came first!!! [pun unintended!]

My new browsing technique at The Village=Bookshop seems to have multiplied into the serendipitous millions. [I did A’s through Bronte, yesterday]

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utterly insane... but probably important historically