Brothers of the Quill: Oliver Goldsmith in Grub Street Oliver Goldsmith in Grub Street

Oliver Goldsmith arrived in England a penniless Irishman and toiled for years in the anonymity of Grub Street. Norma Clarke tells how this destitute scribbler became one of literary London's most celebrated authors, transmuting dark truths about the empire into fable and nostalgia whose undertow of Irish indignation remains just barely perceptible. Brothers Of The Quill Takes A Familiar Eighteenth-century Theme - Grub Street, The Trials And Tribulations Of Professional Writers In The Early Days Of Commercial Literature - And Brings A New Perspective To It. It Follows The Early Career Of Oliver Goldsmith, Who In 1756 Arrived Destitute In London - An Irish 'vagabond' -and Within A Few Years Rose Out Of Grub Street Anonymity To Become A Celebrated Author. It Investigates Goldsmith's Literary Themes And Choices, His Friendships And Reputation In The Context Of The Parallel Careers Of Some Of His Associates. Brothers Of The Quill Looks Beyond The Famous 'club' Of Johnson, Reynolds, And Burke, And Beyond The Condescending Anecdotes That Fixed Goldsmith As An Anomalous Creature In Polite Eighteenth-century English Culture, To Find More Complex Ways Of Understanding His Achievement. It Takes Seriously His Irishness And His Sophistication. It Delves Deeply Into Key Eighteenth-century Issues That Figure In Goldsmith's Writings Because They Troubled His Life: Colonial Power, Patronage, Libertinism, Prostitution, Gambling, Debt And Imprisonment, Slavery And Indenture, Enclosure And Absenteeism. Goldsmith Became One Of The Best-loved Writers In English Literature, Especially For The Vicar Of Wakefield, She Stoops To Conquer, And The Deserted Village (a Novel, A Play, A Poem), But He Is No Longer Much Read And His Stature Has Never Been Properly Acknowledged. Goldsmith Transmuted Dark Realities Into Fable, Fun, And Nostalgia. His Ability To Tell Stories And Elaborate Myths Brought Fame And Fine Living. Brothers Of The Quill Argues That It Is Time To Look Again At Oliver Goldsmith.--provided By Publisher. Part One: Grub Street -- An Irishman In London -- Borderers Upon Parnassus -- The Philosophic Vagabond -- Covent Garden -- Authors By Profession -- Writing For The Press -- Beau Tibbs -- The Real Story Of John Carteret Pilkington -- Part Two: Man Of Letters -- Debauchery -- The Vicar Of Wakefield -- James Grainger And The Sugar-cane -- Robert Nugent And Son -- The Good Natured Man. Norma Clarke. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 353-386) And Index. Oliver Goldsmith arrived in England in 1756 a penniless Irishman. He toiled for years in the anonymity of Grub Street already a synonym for impoverished hack writers before he became one of literary London s most celebrated authors. Norma Clarke tells the extraordinary story of this destitute scribbler turned gentleman of letters as it unfolds in the early days of commercial publishing, when writers livelihoods came to depend on the reading public, not aristocratic patrons. Clarke examines a network of writers radiating outward from Goldsmith: the famous and celebrated authors of Dr. Johnson s Club and those far less fortunate brothers of the quill trapped in Grub Street. Clarke emphasizes Goldsmith s sense of himself as an Irishman, showing that many of his early literary acquaintances were Irish emigres: Samuel Derrick, John Pilkington, Paul Hiffernan, and Edward Purdon. These writers tutored Goldsmith in the ways of Grub Street, and their influence on his development has not previously been explored. Also Irish was the patron he acquired after 1764, Robert Nugent, Lord Clare. Clarke places Goldsmith in the tradition of Anglo-Irish satirists beginning with Jonathan Swift. He transmuted troubling truths about the British Empire into forms of fable and nostalgia whose undertow of Irish indignation remains perceptible, if just barely, beneath an equanimous English surface. To read Brothers of the Quill is to be taken by the hand into the darker corners of eighteenth-century Grub Street, and to laugh and cry at the absurdities of the writing life. " Oliver Goldsmith arrived in England in 1756 a penniless Irishman. He toiled for years in the anonymity of Grub Street—already a synonym for impoverished hack writers—before he became one of literary London's most celebrated authors. Norma Clarke tells the extraordinary story of this destitute scribbler turned gentleman of letters as it unfolds in the early days of commercial publishing, when writers'livelihoods came to depend on the reading public, not aristocratic patrons. Clarke examines a network of writers radiating outward from Goldsmith: the famous and celebrated authors of Dr. Johnson's “Club” and those far less fortunate “brothers of the quill” trapped in Grub Street.Clarke emphasizes Goldsmith's sense of himself as an Irishman, showing that many of his early literary acquaintances were Irish émigrés: Samuel Derrick, John Pilkington, Paul Hiffernan, and Edward Purdon. These writers tutored Goldsmith in the ways of Grub Street, and their influence on his development has not previously been explored. Also Irish was the patron he acquired after 1764, Robert Nugent, Lord Clare. Clarke places Goldsmith in the tradition of Anglo-Irish satirists beginning with Jonathan Swift. He transmuted troubling truths about the British Empire into forms of fable and nostalgia whose undertow of Irish indignation remains perceptible, if just barely, beneath an equanimous English surface.To read Brothers of the Quill is to be taken by the hand into the darker corners of eighteenth-century Grub Street, and to laugh and cry at the absurdities of the writing life. Contents Chronology Introduction Part I: Grub Street 1. An Irishman in London 2. ‘Borderers Upon Parnassus’ 3. The Philosophic Vagabond 4. Covent Garden 5. Authors by Profession 6. Writing for the Press 7. Beau Tibbs 8. The Real Story of John Carteret Pilkington Part II: Man of Letters 9. Debauchery 10. The Vicar of Wakefi eld 11. James Grainger and The Sugar- cane 12. Robert Nugent and Son 13. The Good- Natured Man Postscript Notes Acknowledgements Index