PREFACE TO SWIFT

nbspWhile thematically arranged, this text follows a broadly chronological account of Swifts life to show his development as a writer from the prolific and inventive iconoclast to the mature satirist. It considers his engagement with the corruption of over-secure politicians and his opposition to the easy rationalism of free-thinking pundits. Gullivers Travels is shown to be a coherent critique of eighteenth-century ideas of science, education and politics. Keith Crook also discusses a wide range of Swifts other works, including his early satires, his political writings, his poems and his letters.