The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom (Works of Tobias Smollett)

The hero of "Ferdinand Count Fathom" (1753) is a monster of treachery and fraud. Fate and coincidence play a large part in his picaresque progress through England and Europe, and much of the narrative is written in a mock-heroic style. This critical study explains the literary and historical background of the 18th-century world in which the book was written.

"One of the major benefits of Beasley's excellent edition of "Fathom" will be to make Smollett's most experimental novel better known to eighteenth-century scholars, but also, thanks to its wealth of annotations, to convey to a wider public an intuitive sense of what is felt like to be living in mid-eighteenth century Britain."--"Studies in Scottish Literature"

"The appearance of "Ferdinand Count Fathom" is a cause for great celebration. . . . [Beasley's] detailed and stylish introduction places this neglected novel (so clearly the ancestor of Thackeray's "Barry Lyndon") in the various contexts of Smollett's career, the eighteenth-century literary scene, and the tradition of the novel. His textual notes are comprehensive, reliable, and exact. . . . It is impossible to imagine anything superseding it for many years to come."--"Eighteenth-Century Scotland"

"The appearance of the first volume of a major scholarly edition of the works of Tobias Smollett is an important event. . . . If the other editors of separate volumes in the series but match Beasley's work with "Fathom", the whole project has been well worth the long wait. He has done a superb job. The introduction defines the place of this novel in Smollett's whole career. Also Beasley develops arguments that "Fathom" was a notable experiment in fiction, 'a serious and unblushing representation of remorseless (at least until the end) villainy, ' and that the work represents an attempt to discover a way of presenting the relation between fiction and real life. Beasley's notes, more comprehensive than any ever offered before, are especially illuminating as identifications of literary allusions and historical references. No major research library can afford to pass over this volume. Indeed, all major libraries will want to subscribe to the entire edition. Most highly recommended."--"Choice"

The appearance of the first volume of a major scholarly edition of the works of Tobias Smollett is an important event. . . . If the other editors of separate volumes in the series but match Beasley's work with "Fathom," the whole project has been well worth the long wait. He has done a superb job. The introduction defines the place of this novel in Smollett's whole career. Also Beasley develops arguments that "Fathom" was a notable experiment in fiction, 'a serious and unblushing representation of remorseless (at least until the end) villainy, ' and that the work represents an attempt to discover a way of presenting the relation between fiction and real life. Beasley's notes, more comprehensive than any ever offered before, are especially illuminating as identifications of literary allusions and historical references. No major research library can afford to pass over this volume. Indeed, all major libraries will want to subscribe to the entire edition. Most highly recommended.--"Choice"

The appearance of "Ferdinand Count Fathom" is a cause for great celebration. . . . [Beasley's] detailed and stylish introduction places this neglected novel (so clearly the ancestor of Thackeray's "Barry Lyndon") in the various contexts of Smollett's career, the eighteenth-century literary scene, and the tradition of the novel. His textual notes are comprehensive, reliable, and exact. . . . It is impossible to imagine anything superseding it for many years to come.--"Eighteenth-Century Scotland"

One of the major benefits of Beasley's excellent edition of "Fathom" will be to make Smollett's most experimental novel better known to eighteenth-century scholars, but also, thanks to its wealth of annotations, to convey to a wider public an intuitive sense of what is felt like to be living in mid-eighteenth century Britain.--"Studies in Scottish Literature"

The appearance of the first volume of a major scholarly edition of the works of Tobias Smollett is an important event. . . . If the other editors of separate volumes in the series but match Beasley's work with Fathom, the whole project has been well worth the long wait. He has done a superb job. The introduction defines the place of this novel in Smollett's whole career. Also Beasley develops arguments that Fathom was a notable experiment in fiction, 'a serious and unblushing representation of remorseless (at least until the end) villainy, ' and that the work represents an attempt to discover a way of presenting the relation between fiction and real life. Beasley's notes, more comprehensive than any ever offered before, are especially illuminating as identifications of literary allusions and historical references. No major research library can afford to pass over this volume. Indeed, all major libraries will want to subscribe to the entire edition. Most highly recommended.

--Choice

The appearance of Ferdinand Count Fathom is a cause for great celebration. . . . [Beasley's] detailed and stylish introduction places this neglected novel (so clearly the ancestor of Thackeray's Barry Lyndon) in the various contexts of Smollett's career, the eighteenth-century literary scene, and the tradition of the novel. His textual notes are comprehensive, reliable, and exact. . . . It is impossible to imagine anything superseding it for many years to come.

--Eighteenth-Century Scotland

One of the major benefits of Beasley's excellent edition of Fathom will be to make Smollett's most experimental novel better known to eighteenth-century scholars, but also, thanks to its wealth of annotations, to convey to a wider public an intuitive sense of what is felt like to be living in mid-eighteenth century Britain.

--Studies in Scottish Literature