The Portable Swift

by Jonathan Swift, Carl van Doren (Editor)

The Caustic genius of Jonathan Swift

Contents
Editor's introduction
Chronology
Bibliographical note
Sweetness and light, from An account of a battle between the antient and modern books
A digression concerning madness, from A tale of a tub
When I come to be old. 1699
Thoughts on various subjects, moral and diverting
Thoughts on religion
Hints towards an essay on conversation
From Journal to Stella
The Earl of Wharton
The art of political lying
The rewards of Marlborough
To Alexander Pope
To Esther Vanhomrigh (Vanessa)
To John Gay
From The drapier's letters
Travels into several remote nations of the world ... by Lemuel Gulliver:
- A voyage to Lilliput
- A voyage to Brobdingnag
- A voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan
- A voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms
On the death of Mrs. Johnson (Stella)
A vindication of Mr. Gay, and the Beggar's opera
A modest proposal
To Viscount Bolingbroke
To John Arbuthnot
On poetry : a rhapsody
Verses on the death of Dr. Swift

Genres: Classics, Essays, Fiction, Poetry, Humor, Anthologies

601 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".

Reviews

[Justin Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal are unforgettable, but a large part of the remaining makes the reader feel like he is seeing glimpses of the authors thoughts through chinks in a wall composed of displaced distance and time. I wonder how many of the words and phrases in The Portable Swift are actually double-entendres, sneaking past the censors, as well as a reading audience nearly 400 years later.

[Noah Oanh · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a man Swift was and what a collection of poems, letters, novel that the book had offered us! Learning about him and what he did during the time he was on Earth was fascinating. His sharp mind and sharp tongue surely gave him and his friends so much troubles in England and Ireland back to the time 400 years ago (hence all the censors in the book!). But whatever he mentioned in the book sadly are still really relevant to many things are happening now in politic and our society.

Learning that his grave is at Saint Patrick's church in Dub 8, I actually want to visit his grave sometimes soon to study about the man and his legacy. Without him and his money, Ireland would not have the first mental health hospital so early at that time - one of the first in the world too.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's got Gulliver's Travels (complete); A Modest proposal; poetry.