A Tale of a Tub and Other Works (The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jonathan Swift, Series Number 1)

This volume contains the three works which together make up Jonathan Swift's early satiric and intellectual masterpiece, A Tale of a Tub: the Tale itself, The Battel of the Books, and The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit. Incorporating much new knowledge, this 2010 edition provides the first full scholarly treatment of this important work for fifty years. The introduction discusses publication, composition, and authorship; sources, analogues and generic models; reception; and religious, scientific and literary contexts (including the ancients and moderns controversy). Detailed explanatory notes address many previously unexplained issues in this famously rich and difficult work. Texts have been fully collated and edited according to modern principles and are accompanied with a textual introduction and full textual apparatus. Illustrations include title pages, the eight engravings from the fifth edition, and original designs for these engravings. Extensive associated contemporary materials, including Edmund Curll's Key and William Wotton's Observations, are provided. This edition of Swift's satiric masterpiece includes a detailed introduction and explanatory notes which address many previously unexplained issues. Texts have been fully collated and edited according to modern principles and are accompanied with a textual introduction and full textual apparatus A tale of a tub -- The battel of the books -- A discourse concerning the mechanical operation of the spirit -- Swift's editorial matter for Temple's posthumous publications.

An authoritative scholarly edition of Swift's satiric masterpiece, with full textual apparatus and annotation.