0192805126.Oxford.University.Press.USA.The.Vicar.of.Wakefield.Jun.2006

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oxford world
’
s classics
THE VICAR OF WAKEFIELD
O
liver
G
oldsmith
was born in
1730
(?), the second son of
Charles Goldsmith, curate of the parish of Kilkenny West in West
Meath in Ireland. In
1745
he was admitted to Trinity College
Dublin. He quickly dissipated his savings by gambling, which was
to become an abiding interest. After periods at the Universities of
Edinburgh and Leyden he spent
1755
–
6
travelling in Europe, where
he is reputed to have eked out a living by playing the
fl
ute and
disputing doctrinal points at monasteries and universities. Before
embarking on a writing career he worked in London as an
apothecary’s assistant, a doctor, and a school usher. A combination
of overwork, worry, and poor self-treatment hastened his death
in
1774
.
Goldsmith’s ability and range as a professional writer were
considerable. Best known perhaps for
The Vicar of Wake
fi
eld
, he was
also the author of biographies, anthologies, translations, poems (
The
Traveller
,
1764
, and
The Deserted Village
,
1770
), plays (
She Stoops to
Conquer
,
1773
), as well as numerous reviews and essays.
A
rthur
F
riedman
is the late distinguished Professor of English at
the University of Chicago and editor of Goldsmith’s
Collected Works
.
R
obert
L. M
ack
is a lecturer in the School of English at the
University of Exeter. He has previously taught at Princeton University
and Vanderbilt University, and is the editor of the
Arabian Nights’
Entertainments
and
Oriental Tales
for Oxford World’s Classics. His biog-
raphy of the poet Thomas Gray was published by Yale University Press
in
2000
.
oxford world
’
s classics
For over
100
years Oxford World’s Classics have brought
readers closer to the world’s great literature. Now with over
700
titles—from the
4
,
000
-year-old myths of Mesopotamia to the
twentieth century’s greatest novels—the series makes available
lesser-known as well as celebrated writing.
The pocket-sized hardbacks of the early years contained
introductions by Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Graham Greene,
and other literary
fi
gures which enriched the experience of reading.
Today the series is recognized for its
fi
ne scholarship and
reliability in texts that span world literature, drama and poetry,
religion, philosophy and politics. Each edition includes perceptive
commentary and essential background information to meet the
changing needs of readers.
OXFORD WORLD’S CLASSICS
OLIVER GOLDSMITH
The Vicar of Wake
fi
eld
Edited by
ARTHUR FRIEDMAN
With an Introduction and Notes by
ROBERT L. MACK
1
3
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford
ox2 6dp
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Editorial matter © Robert L. Mack 2006
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Database right Oxford University Press (maker)
First published as a World’s Classics paperback 1981
Reissued as an Oxford World’s Classics paperback 1999
New edition 2006
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neCatch Limited, Bungay, Su
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olk
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ISBN 0–19–280512–6 978–0–19–280512–6
1
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