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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #2667.
The Vicar of Wakefield is a domestic novel that centers on the ordinary yet morally earnest life of an English clergyman and his large family. The opening passage frames the work as a study of character rather than plot, noting that the hero simultaneously embodies the roles of priest, husband, and father, and that his virtues are tested by both prosperity and adversity. From the first chapter the narrator offers a detailed portrait of the Wakefield household, its modest country home, the affection between husband and wife, and the upbringing of six children, while hinting at the inevitable misfortunes that will test their humility and generosity. The catalogue of chapter headings, ranging from “Family misfortunes” to “A reformation in the gaol,” signals a series of episodic trials that will explore themes of poverty, pride, and providence within a tightly knit family.
Goldsmith’s prose is marked by a measured, eighteenth‑century cadence, blending gentle satire with earnest moral reflection. The narrator’s voice is conversational yet elevated, often commenting on the virtues of simplicity and the folly of pretension. Readers who enjoy measured social commentary, gentle humor, and a portrait of rural English life, particularly those interested in clergy families, domestic struggles, and the moral economy of the period, will find this novel rewarding.
The opening · free to read
There are an hundred faults in this Thing, and an hundred things might be said to prove them beauties. But it is needless. A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth; he is a priest, an husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey, as simple in affluence, and majestic in adversity. In this age of opulence and refinement whom can such a character please? Such as are fond of high life, will turn with disdain from the simplicity of his country fire-side. Such as mistake ribaldry for humour, will find no wit in his harmless conversation; and such as have been taught to deride religion, will laugh at one whose chief stores of comfort are drawn from futurity.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH.
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