Who was Jonathan Swift? This book examines this enigmatic figure in the light of his relationships - with his lover Esther Vanhomrigh, his ward Esther Johnston, and his male friends: Congreve, Temple, Bolingbroke, Harley, Pope, Addison and Thomas Sheridan. Though often caricatured as a bitter misanthrope, Swift can only be properly understood if we recognize his love of humanity and his capacity for friendship. The author traces this theme from Swift's youth in Ireland and his literary and political apprenticeship at Moor Park in Surrey, and on through the years of greatness - the satires and pamphlets, the Church diplomacy at the Court of Queen Anne, and the writings of his maturity: the "Drapier's Letters", "A Modest Proposal", and "Gulliver's Travels".
- ISBN10 1901866394
- ISBN13 9781901866391
- Publish Date 23 September 1999
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 14 June 2013
- Publish Country IE
- Imprint The Lilliput Press Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 140
- Language English