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.

Excerpt from The Life of Oliver Goldsmith This is the Oliver Goldsmith whom we know through his works, and we think that the man himself cannot have been different. But when we read some accounts of him, transmitted to us bya few Of his contemporaries, we are amazed to find that we are mistaken in our assumption. We are told that he was a vain empty coxcomb, so overwhelmed with self-conceit that he could not hear without envy of the success Of another man, no matter in what direction it was achieved - that he was ungrateful to those who had befriended him most - that he was an accomplished liar, a contemptible braggart, an un dutiful son, and a bit of a hypocrite into the bargain. He was a plagiarist when he was at his best, and a fool when he was at his worst. He affected a wisdom to which he had no claim, and a learning which he did not possess. He only failed to be an impostor because of his want of ability to frame any scheme that would impose upon the most credulous of humanity. We find, in short, that the man Goldsmith was in every respect exactly the opposite to Goldsmith the writer. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Life of Oliver Goldsmith, M. B: From a Variety of Original Sources Biography has been justly characterized as combining much useful instruction with a large share of amusement; and no description of it has been more popular than the lives of literary men. One of the reasons of this preference probably is, that we are naturally curious about what is more particularly considered the history of Mind, and in such ac counts we are often enabled to trace it in active operation while giving birth to productions that have won the admiration of mankind. Neither' is the personal career of such persons without many, and sometimes uncommon vicissitudes: from their lives we turn to their writings with increased interest; and delight in contrasting perhaps the follies and weaknesses that have marked the one, with the wisdom and excellence shown in the Other. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from A Book of Cambridge Verse Nevertheless, after all deductions have been made, how much true poetry is yet left! He must be hard to please who cannot find intense enjoyment in the Eclogues of Phineas Fletcher, in Cowley's epitaph on Harvey, in the Miltonic stanzas of Gray's Installation Ode, in a score of other pieces, grave, quaint, or classical in their allusive ness of phrasing. Especially grateful must we be to the number of poets, of exquisite feeling and easy mastery of form, who during the last fifty or sixty years have enriched the language with delicate and elegant verse, from which it has been only too difficult to choose because its quantity is so great and its merit so even. Of this we trust we have given a tolerably adequate selection but it would have been easy to multiply it fourfold. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

"She Stoops to Conquer" is a comedy play written by the Anglo-Irish playwright Oliver Goldsmith. It was first performed in London in 1773. The play is a classic of English literature and is known for its humor, wit, and exploration of social class distinctions. The plot revolves around the attempts of two young men, Marlow and Hastings, to court the wealthy Miss Kate Hardcastle and her cousin Constance Neville. Mistaken identities, misunderstandings, and comedic situations ensue when Marlow mistakes the Hardcastle home for an inn and behaves differently towards Kate than he does towards ladies of his own class. The title, "She Stoops to Conquer," refers to the central plot point where Kate pretends to be a barmaid to win over Marlow, who is shy and awkward around upper-class women but more confident with women of lower social status.