The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle - New Century Edition with DirectLink Technology

by Tobias Smollett

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Genres: Fiction, Classics, 18th Century, Historical Fiction, Humor, Novels, British Literature

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1751

About the author

Tobias George Smollett was born in Dalquhurn, now part of Renton, Scotland, to a prosperous family and educated at the University of Glasgow, where he studied to be a physician. Later he joined the British Royal Navy as a surgeon's mate. He was present at the disastrous battle against the Spanish at Cartagena in 1741.

He married a British woman named Anne " Nancy" Lascelles, in Jamaica, 1747,and settled in England. In London, as a writer, he became successful. The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), a picaresque novel - like most of his books - made him a well known author. It was followed by The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle in 1751. But the failure of The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom (1753) caused financial difficulties for him. Publishing The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves (1762) didn't help.

Writing poems, plays, travel and history books, essays, satires, doing translations and even becoming a literary critic and magazine editor, Dr. Smollett struggled all his short life against poverty, he traveled to Italy, to regain his health, but died of tuberculosis near Livorno, in 1771. Ironically finishing his masterpiece, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker, a few months before his death.

Charles Dickens was a great admirer of Tobias Smollett, even visiting his grave site.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell]

Does the above book cover for Tobias Smollett's The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle look like an invitation to a frolicking, sexually charged escapade all in the spirit of good, clean fun? That's precisely what the publisher of this edition is aiming for.

Much, much different from Thomas Rowlandson's original illustrations for this novel originally published in 1750, an artist who, according to V.S. Pritchett, shared the author's view of humans as little more than lumps of animal horror or stupidity, a gaggle of reeking, fat-stock swine done up in ribbons or breeches.

After reading the novel myself, I think Mr. Pritchett is a bit harsh and unfair regarding Tobias Smollet's assessment of human nature. To take one of many examples, early on in the tale, the author writes: "our young hero, who being now in the eleventh year of his age, had outgrown the expectation of all his family, and was remarkable for the beauty and elegance of his person." And later, as a young university student at Oxford: "he contracted a more intimate acquaintance with the classics, applied himself to the reading of history, improved his taste for painting and music, in which he made some progress; and, above all things, cultivated the study of natural philosophy."

One could read hundreds of pages from such modern-day authors as Irvine Welsh (like Smollett, also a Scotsman) or Martin Amis or Michel Houellebecq without ever happening upon passages of a man or woman described in terms of beauty and elegance or cultivating an intimate acquaintance with the classics, painting or philosophy. Actually, I'm being discreet here - in point of fact, none of the above contemporary authors come close to having their characters embody beauty and elegance or possess a desire to cultivate refined aesthetic sensibilities. Thus I feel Tobias Smollett has been given a bad rap.

In 1751, the year of publication of Peregrine Pickle, the state of literacy in England was such that only one in two men could read. The percentage of women was even lower: only one in three women could read. But for those who could read, they were treated to Tobias Smollett’s highly polished vocabulary and lengthy, elegant sentences. This to say, although the literacy rate was much lower than today, one is given the impression those who could read were reading at a higher level. By way of example, here is a "typical" sentence from the novel's 800 pages:

"He no sooner gave them to understand that he himself intended in a short time to visit that capital, that his mistress, with great precipitation, wished him a good journey, and affected to talk with indifference about the pleasures he would enjoy in France: but when he seriously assured Sophy, who asked if he was in earnest, that his uncle actually insisted upon his making a short tour, than the tears gushed in poor Emilia's eyes, and she was at great paints to conceal her concern, by observing that the tea was so scalding hot, as to make her eyes water."

The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle is written within the tradition of the picaresque, where we follow the travels and travails, roguery and high jinx, loves and heartaches of one Peregrine “Perry” Pickle, an intellectually gifted and handsome young country gentleman beginning back when he was a mere babe. Scorned by his mean-spirited mother, disregarded by a milksop of a father, Perry is reared by the next door neighbor, Commodore Hawser Trunnion and his wife and two cronies before being sent off to school. And following his university years at Oxford, there’s journeys and adventures aplenty wherein Tobias Smollett is provided ample occasion to take aim at the bad manners, brutality, stupidity and horrors of society, or what passes for society and culture, in the eighteenth century.

Regarding stupidity, back when Perry was a baby, his mother “with her own hands plunged him headlong every morning in a tub-full of cold water.” As we come to learn in future chapters, Perry’s mother is cruel and hardhearted in the extreme. But Perry is a special kind of kid – case in point, with his morning emersion into ice cold water “instead of declining in point of health, seemed to acquire fresh vigour from every plunge.” And here’s one example of a common form of brutality, British style: when sent off to a boarding school at age five, the lad was “regularly flogged twice a day for eighteen months.” Beating children was both socially acceptable and legal and this ruthless, inhuman practice was not outlawed in England until 1999. And the popular imagination has those Brits as a refined, polished, gentile tea-sipping lot – completely ridiculous.

Tobias Smollett also recognized the influence of a good teacher with a sense of basic decency and humanity. Perry, age six, is sent off to another boarding school outside of London. The lad has the good fortune to come under the care of a Mr. Jennings, a perceptive teacher who, like all his students under his care, studied Perry’s temper and personality which was “strongly perverted by the absurd discipline he had undergone.”

The Scottish author is especially sensitive to the benefits of student-centered teaching such that Perry “recovers his feelings and his frequently found weeping by himself” (such teaching methods were foundational in John Dewey’s progressive philosophy of education). The supposed dunce has a complete turnaround – the new Perry is remarkable for his brightness; he can read English perfectly well, makes great progress in writing and develops the ability to speak French and becomes modestly proficient in Latin.

The above are but short snips that highlight a few episodes among hundreds a reader will engage with in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. And true to form, the novel contains some of the most colorful characters in all of literature - Commodore Hawser Trunnion, the old sea captain that takes Perry on as his ward, the sea captain's old shipmates, Lieutenant Jack Hatchway and Thomas Pipes, Perry's lover Emilia Gauntlet, his enemies and his friends, especially old, misanthropic Cadwallader Crabtree.

If you are up for a tale filled with zeal and zest along with comedy of the broad physical variety, then The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle is your book. And, besides which, you can tell your friends you've read an eighteenth century literary classic.


Tobias Smollett, 1721-1771

"His eyes rolled about, witnessing rage and distraction; he foamed at the mouth, stamped upon the ground with great violence, uttered incoherent imprecations against himself and all mankind, and would have sallied forth again he knew not whither, upon the same horse, which he had already almost killed with fatigue, had not his confidant found means to quiet the tumult of his thoughts and recall his reflection, by representing the condition of the poor animals, and advising him to hire fresh horses, and ride post across the country, to the village in the neighborhood of Mrs. Gauntlet's habitation, where they should infallibly intercept the daughter, provided they could get the start of her upon the road." -- Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle

[Henry Avila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peregrine Pickle is the rare kind of man who his own mother hates! That she's a nut, doesn't help him in life you can imagine. Mr. Pickle is an incessant, rather notorious practical joker to his friends and relatives which annoys the people, those few that still speak to him. Commodore Hawser Trunnion, the eccentric ( a word used for the rich, the poor are called insane), former seaman later his uncle takes him in after Pickle is not welcomed back home, no big surprise. Trunnion has two loyal friends staying in the old mansion also, Lieutenant Hatchway and boatswain Tom Pipes, both former shipmates on board his vessel. Trunnion has a little problem this is stating it mildly, he treats his house like a warship on the high seas ready for combat. Even shooting off a huge cannon from it, that's normal right. Not to the neighbors you can guess aren't too thrilled about all the commotion yet since the old sailor is rich and powerful, look the other way. Peregrine becomes a con man and gets involved with a phony magician, aren't they all! Bilking the wealthy and gullible crowd in the land of England. Later he travels to the famous resort of Bath, the ultimate place in the 18th century where the well- to- do congregate, and Mr. Pickle pretends to be a doctor, the affluent... important (the author was himself a physician and is having a little fun at his own profession). Eventually the con man gets conned and loses all his money justice prevails. Luckily an unexpected inheritance, rights Pickle's sinking ship. The never less than diverting writer Mr. Tobias Smollett is at one of his most amusing, maybe not the best, that masterpiece goes to Humphry Clinker, however this book undoubtedly comes in second and what's wrong with that. For any readers which likes something new, highly recommended.

[Warwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that makes me feel rather torn – sceptical about the five-star reviews, but strangely defensive when I read the two-stars. It's a difficult book to read, and you sense when you're reading it that it wasn't written for us at all, but for people with completely different understandings of what fiction would do. We expect story arcs, character development, plot. Instead here we get one episodic set-piece after another, with (at least on the face of it) no cumulative effect.

And then there's the problem of the hero. Peregrine Pickle himself is – let's be honest – a complete dick, who shags his way around Europe while expecting the virtuous heroine Emilia to remain pure and faithful, and who drives the book forward by means of a series of extremely nasty practical jokes on the rest of the cast. These encapsulate a lot of typical eighteenth-century humour, which tends to revolve around bums and farts, women being sexually tricked, and ‘hilarious’ attempts to convince people they are about to die. Most chapters here focus on such escapades, and end with Pickle popping up to say ‘lol just a prank’, to no repercussions whatsoever.

After a while of this, the book starts to come across as a kind of Georgian Jackass, and you wonder whether you'll just be reading variations on the same anecdote over and over again for seven hundred pages. These jokes, which Smollett called ‘practical satires’, were clearly of central importance to him, and I think you have to find a way to come to terms with them. The best way of understanding Peregrine Pickle is to grasp that Smollett uses such practical satires, rather than plot or character, to advance his story; once that's understood, you can begin to appreciate the structural role they play.

We certainly don't admire Peregrine; we probably don't even like him much. Are we supposed to? At first I thought maybe we were; but even early on, there are hints that Smollett understands what a nightmare his hero is. ‘Sorry I am, that the task I have undertaken, lays me under the necessity of divulging this degeneracy in the sentiments of our imperious youth,’ he says about three hundred pages in. A few scattered comments like this made me pause, and wonder if a couple of consequences might eventually turn up. In fact they do, though many readers seem to give up long before that point, and you can hardly blame them.

But strange things happen in the second half of this giant book. First of all, there is a fascinating variant on the standard eighteenth-century attempted rape scene. Peregrine, at the height of his fortune and fashion, decides the time has come to (as Smollett puts it) ‘prosecute his design upon Emilia’. He duly takes her to a masquerade (that prototypical site of Georgian debauchery), drugs her wine with an aphrodisiac, and when she begs to be taken home, has the carriage instead convey her to a remote house he has taken for the purpose. Here he begins ‘to obey the furious dictates of his unruly and ungenerous desire’, and once again we see that the intended rape is interpreted as a way of accommodating a woman's modesty: ‘it was now his business to storm the fort by a vigorous assault, that he might spare her the confusion of yielding without resistance’.

I wrote about this attitude in some detail when I was reviewing Clarissa, and the details of this scene – the drugs, the false lodgings, the protagonist's self-delusion – make it almost a semi-parodic rewrite of the central scene in Richardson's novel. Yet here the result is quite different. Emilia responds with an extraordinary diatribe against Peregrine which, after so long following him, is almost as much a shock to the reader as it is to Pickle himself, and which is so cutting that it completely pacifies him.

“Sir, you are unworthy of my concern or regret, and the sigh that now struggles from my breast, is the result of sorrow, for my own want of discernment. As for your present attempt upon my chastity, I despise your power, as I detest your intention. Though, under the mask, of the most delicate respect, you have decoyed me from the immediate protection of my friends, and contrived other impious stratagems to ruin my peace and reputation, I confide too much in my own innocence, and the authority of the law, to admit one thought of fear, much less to sink under the horror of this shocking situation, into which I have been seduced […] you must not only be a treacherous villain, but also a most despicable coward.” Having expressed herself in this manner, with a most majestic severity of aspect, she opened the door, and walked down stairs with surprising resolution, committed herself to the care of a watchman, who accommodated her with a hackney-chair, in which she was safely conveyed to her uncle's house.

Comparing it to Clarissa, we might conclude that one difference between a comedy and a tragedy is that in a comedy, female eloquence is equal to male predation; in a tragedy, it is not, or only too late. Where Clarissa was driven temporarily mad, here it is the seducer himself who is overcome by ‘a violent fit of distraction, during which he raved like a Bedlamite’. I found the impact of this scene almost overwhelmingly satisfying, not just after the first several hundred pages of this book, but after the last several months reading books from this period. Emilia became an instant hero of mine.

Soon after comes another unexpected development, in the most bizarre chapter of the book. Most chapters in here are a reader-friendly three or four pages long. Then suddenly you get Book Three, Chapter LXXXVIII, which goes on for fully eighty pages – a novella, inserted into the novel. This interpolation, titled ‘The memoirs of a lady of quality’, purports to be the autobiography of ‘the celebrated lady —’ (a thinly disguised Frances, Lady Vane). Horace Walpole and many other contemporary readers assumed that this section was indeed written by Lady Vane herself, although the actual authorship seems to be more complicated and still isn't really certain; probably, she wrote an outline which Smollett edited somewhat. In any case, the effect of suddenly having a female narrator is dramatic. Lady Vane was famous at the time as a sexually adventurous woman, having had numerous marriages and affairs and generally slutting it up around European high society, and was treated by contemporaries with a mixture of admiration and disapproval. Coming on the heels of so much unwearying detail about Peregrine's own sexual escapades, this chapter makes for a fascinating contrast, fully exposing the double standards that persisted at the time. 

From here on in, things start changing for Peregrine. His gallantry is exposed as villainy, his sexism is challenged, his worldview is shaken, and his money is squandered. By the fourth, final, volume, we find our hero locked up in the Fleet prison for bankruptcy. His decline is finally complete:

The florid, the sprightly, the gay, the elevated youth, was now metamorphosed into a wan, dejected, meagre, squalid spectre; the hollow-eyed representative of distemper, indigence and despair […].

The rise and fall does finally happen, then, although so delayed that we are left with only a dozen pages or so to effect a happy resolution. What all of this means in total is hard to say. There are long passages of travelogue while Peregrine is on his Grand Tour; excursions into literary and theatrical criticism, where contemporaries like Garrick and Fielding are mercilessly ripped to pieces; most of all, for modern readers, there is a constant immersion in the bustle of mid-eighteenth century life, a swirl of coffee-houses, ridottos, country squires and grasping stock-jobbers, walks in the Mall, arguments in the playhouse pit, fumbles among petticoats and unbuttoned breeches during high-society liaisons. The language of the book is likewise immersive: I have five pages of notes on new vocabulary, from mackerel breezes and games of ‘E O’ to slammerkins, piss-kitchens, and Hans-in-Kelders.

It's hard to know who to recommend this to; it's set dead against the sanctimonious moralising of Richardson, and absolutely nothing like the Regency comedies that would start to appear a couple of generations later, though nor is it much like the rollicking bawdiness of Fielding. But I'm really happy to have read it, just because it feels like such a long soak in the time period. Like an alien artefact, it's rather unknowable and sometimes unpleasant, but glittering with strange and often delightful effects.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first time to read a novel by Scottish poet and author Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) and I found it just okay.

This picaresque novel tells the story of a young man called Peregrine Pickle who is a free spirit. He loves adventure, hates his mother (who hates him in return), talks a lot and challenges the convention and authorities. Because of these things he is an easy magnet to all sorts of funny but sometimes trite situations that compromise himself. I think the novel was written by Smollett as a satire of the high class Parisian society of the 18th century. Pickle belongs to that class and Smollett makes him like a loose canon exposing the hypocrisy and duplicity of those people who are supposedly the vanguard of morals and propriety.

The narrative is episodic that I think was the preferred style for storytelling during that time in Europe. A couple of weeks back, I read The Lusiads (3 stars) and it had the same episodic format. Pickle is despised by his own cruel mother, ignored by his indifferent father and hated by his degenerate brother and so he is adopted by his eccentric uncle, Commodore Hawser Trunnion. Trunnion is the most unforgettable character here as he provides most entertainment in the first half of the book. This uncle pampers Pickle and so the boy thought that he belongs to the privilege class and he can do whatever he wants: he joins the Grand Tour and travels though Europe where there things are in excess like sex, intrigues and rakish behavior. Upon return to London, he wants to be part of the high society so he marries a heiress. However, Pickle's ambition is thwarted by his own destructive behavior. He gets imprisoned and reforms in the end.

The plot is not really an original by today's standard. However, it was a hit when it was first published in 1751 and said to have influenced the writings of Charles Dickens (1812-1870).

So, even if the writing is verbose and repetitive, this book is a classic and I just cannot hate it. We all should respect the fact that classic works have withstood the test of time and they are still being read after so many years and that's proof enough that they have some universal truths in them.

[Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is described as "picaresque" which I now know to approach warily because I've learned what the word really translates to: From the Latin "Picar" which means "sucks," and from the Greek "esque" which means "big time."

How ironic that the protagonist's name also implies the quality of the book: From the Somali "Peregrine" which means, "Philandering world-wanderer," and from the Esperanto "Pickle," which means "Giant-ass practical joker with asshole friends."

I've been told I need to appreciate such books in context. Okay, fine, here's the context: the book is analogous to today in what would be its modern day form: several seasons of "Jackass" between two covers.

I find no entertainment in cruelty and violence. Only Cormac McCarthy is allowed to write about that, because his prose is transcendent.

You must understand that my favorite forms of fictional entertainment, be it literature or cinema, is where everyone in the work is smart, and thinking.

Everyone here is the opposite. The book is a waste of valuable human time. My last nose-picking session was time better spent.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 *

I found the second half of this novel dragged a bit (due to the inclusion of some fairly lengthy side stories not involving our hero) but overall this satire was a fun look at society & life in the later part of the eighteenth century. Peregrine at times was cruel in some of the jokes he played (especially on the Commodore) and arrogant in his dealings but underneath he has a good heart & he does eventually learn his lesson.

[Buck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, that's it. I just can't stomach any more of this red-cheeked, ale-breathed, snaggle-toothed, har-dee-har-har brand of British humour. I made it through 200 pages before getting fed up with the endless succession of pratfalls and pee jokes. I'm talking Farrelly Brothers territory here - minus the subtlety and wit. And while the typical Farrelly offering at least retains, for all the errant semen flying around, a bumbling romanticism, a moronic sweetness, Peregrine Pickle is just plain nasty. An all-too characteristic 'bit': young Peregrine and his cronies steal some fruit from a peasant, then beat him half to death when he demands payment, thus putting his family 'on the parish'. Great fun, that.

None of this would bother me if it were actually funny - as Rabelais, writing in the same coarse vein, can still be funny today. But Smollett is one of the most elaborately and methodically unfunny writers in the language, outside of Dave Barry.

What a bore. Now I need to go cleanse my palate. Ugh.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this: all 781 pages of it (plus notes). It's a funny, picaresque 18th century novel, grittier and cruder than Henry Fielding, but also a novel that could be a couple hundred pages shorter without any serious loss. By mid-novel the misadventures become almost random, as if Smollett is making the plot up as he goes along, and at one point Peregrine disappears for over 100 pages while we hear the (very topical) memoirs of a lady of quality. In the end, though, after getting out of debtor's prison, Peregrine gets his Emilia and an 80,000 pound inheritance.

I am probably a better person for having read this.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I found the practical jokes and adventures entertaining, Smollet failed pull me in. His characters seemed two-dimensional and sometimes very flat. The protagonist only finds trouble for himself once and even then he is swept away in moments and in a better state. I understand that it is a picaresque and it may be that this genre of fiction only held for some funny moments and adventurous kicks about the city or country, but I never felt invested in the characters or what happened to them (Tom Jones is a worthy contrast to Peregrine Pickle as I felt like I knew Tom and cared for his welfare--not so much for Mr. Pickle).

[Arukiyomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Context: Listened to Vol I of this on a boat from Masarau to Kokopo, East New Britain, PNG with the volcanoes of Rabaul in the distance.

Review: I started off listening to this. It took hours to get to the end. But what, in fact, the end turned out to be was simply the end of Volume 1, I had another book to go. I managed to find an ebook version of Volume 2 after a bit of a search. Although I’m glad I read it, boy does Smollet go on… and on… and on.

Peregrine is a young lad who’s virtually abandoned by his birth family and thrust upon the duties of Hawser Trunnion. Thankfully, Pickle is more than wealthy. In fact, he’s so wealthy, he doesn’t realise how wealthy he really is and, after a louche life at Oxford, sets off on a tour of France and Belgium with which most of Vol 1 is concerned. His “adventures” are just mostly him sowing wild oats. Vol 2 charts the inevitable slide into penury and the predictable restoration of his fortunes on more than one front.

So, the strength of this book does not, in any way, lie in the story. For me, the book was a good read because of it’s wonderful satire of 18th century upper class gentry and Smollet’s ability to turn a phrase. He has a very wry style of writing that is subtle humour at its best. On top of that, there are one or two great characters. Pipes and Trunnion, for me, made the book. The way that Smollet crafts their dialogue, almost entirely consisting of nautical references, is fantastic.

But, as with the Musketeers recently, it was the legacy of the book that took it from okay to good. Smollet simply doesn’t know a) when to shut up and b) when not to include a 200 page side narrative. I kid you not about the latter. I thought I was never going to get to the end of the story a lady tells him. What made it even worse was that this lady, and her interminable story, play absolutely no significant role in the story whatsoever. If the book was half as long, it would be far easier to read.

Smollet’s panache for dark humour kept me going although I was glad when it was all over. I’m not sure how much I’m looking forward to seeing how this compares to Smollet’s other characters, Roderick Random and Humphry Clinker.

OPENING LINE

In a certain county of England, bounded on one side by the sea, and at the distance of one hundred miles from the metropolis, lived Gamaliel Pickle, esq.; the father of that hero whose fortunes we propose to record.

99TH PAGE QUOTE

The soldier's wrath was inflamed by this ironical repetition, the contempt of which his conscious poverty made him feel; and he called his antagonist presumptuous boy, insolent upstart, and with other epithets, which Perry retorted with great bitterness. A formal challenge having passed between them, they alighted at the first inn, and walked into the next field, in order to decide their quarrel by the sword. Having pitched upon the spot, helped to pull off each other's boots, and laid aside their coats and waistcoats, Mr. Gauntlet told his opponent, that he himself was looked upon in the army as an expert swordsman, and that if Mr. Pickle had not made that science his particular study, they should be upon a more equal footing in using pistols. Peregrine was too much incensed to thank him for his plain dealing, and too confident of his own skill to relish the other's proposal, which he accordingly rejected: then, drawing his sword, he observed, that were he to treat Mr. Gauntlet according to his deserts, he would order his man to punish his audacity with a horsewhip. Exasperated at this expression, which he considered as an indelible affront, he made no reply, but attacked his adversary with equal ferocity and address. The youth parried his first and second thrust, but received the third in the outside of his sword-arm. Though the wound was superficial, he was transported with rage at sight of his own blood, and returned the assault with such fury and precipitation, that Gauntlet, loath to take advantage of his unguarded heat, stood upon the defensive. In the second lounge, Peregrine's weapon entering a kind of network in the shell of Godfrey's sword, the blade snapped in two, and left him at the mercy of the soldier, who, far from making an insolent use of the victory he had gained, put up his Toledo with great deliberation, like a man who had been used to that kind of reencounters, and observed that such a blade as Peregrine's was not to be trusted with a man's life: then advising the owner to treat a gentleman in distress with more respect for the future, he slipped on his boots, and with sullen dignity of demeanour stalked back to the inn

CLOSING LINE

This might give the game away. If you want to see the last line, click

From her habitation they proceeded homewards at an easy pace; and, amidst the acclamations of the whole parish, entered their own house, where Emilia was received, in the most tender manner, by Mr. Clover’s wife, who had provided every thing for her ease and accommodation; and, next day, surrendered unto her the management of her own household affairs.

RATING

Key: Legacy | Plot / toPic | Characterisation / faCts | Readability | Achievement | Style Read more about how I come up with my ratings

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An overly long, entertaining, humorous novel mainly about the rich, handsome, well spoken, proud, temperamental, egotistical Peregrine Pickle, who experiences luck and misfortune. Half way through this book the life of a gentlewoman is told. She tells her life story to Mr. Pickle, her friend. She too, like Mr. Pickle, has a number of romances. She marries a rich man she doesn’t particularly like and has a number of affairs. When she becomes too annoyed with her rich husband she escapes his house and travels to Holland, only to be pursued by her husband. Her tale is quite eventful, covering around 150 pages of this 588 page book.

Mr. Pickle tours Europe, leading a rakish life. He then comes back to England, trying to ingratiate himself with fashionable characters and political circles, hoping to marry a heiress as a way of rising in the ranks of the nobility. Things do not go to plan!

Of the three Smollett novels I have read, I prefer the shorter ‘The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker’.

[Neale · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Peregrine Pickle’ was Smollett’s follow-up to ‘Roderick Random’, and it is, if anything, even more packed to the rafters with roguery and rumbustuousness. To tell the truth, there is so much that it all becomes a bit tiring after a while, particularly since Peregrine is a less engaging hero than Roderick Random was. His rogueries are presented as youthful high-spirits, but they start to grate pretty soon, as do the double-standards of class and sex.

The best thing about ‘Peregrine Pickle’, which may explain why it appealed to Dickens for all its wild improprieties, is its gallery of secondary characters (often of a naval nature): these characters are portrayed with much greater complexity than was usual at the time, and are the book’s great gift to the development of the English novel.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long, drawn-out tale of a young man who likes to play jokes on people (rather mean ones) and who eventually overcomes all kinds of misfortune. I had a really hard time with this one, not really sure why other than I couldn't stand the main character. Another "classic" that reminds me of the value of good editors.

The only part I kind of enjoyed was the Memoirs of a Woman of Quality that's kind of like a novella tucked into the overall plot.

44 of The List

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like this book at all. There was no smooth flow to the story and the main character was so horrid that he made me sick. I think the author tried but totally missed the mark with this book. Perhaps another book by him might be better but not this one. Really don't bother.

[Laura]

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.

[Wanda]

4 MAR 2016 - because I cannot resist the title!

Project Gutenberg download - http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4084

[Patrick Stewart · Rating 2 out of 5]

In comparison to the Diary of Samuel Pepys written about 90 years earlier I had to frequently look up words in peregrine pickle.
Most of these words are simply archaic, a few examples are below.
“wear the willow”- to grieve
“assiduity”-diligence and attention to details
“collation” a small meal during a time of fasting in Western Europe
“postilion” - a horse rider working for a horse rental organisation.
“the Fleet” a debtors prison

The book is long. What I wondered about was if it was worthy of the praise in another book called white jacket. Charles Dickens is said to have been influenced by it and other authors too. Perhaps it is an early example of an adventure novel.

It was a slog to get through some parts of the book. One description of a lady’s adventure to the main character was repetitive and boring and added nothing to the book.

Some of the characters were useful only to stretch out the story while they didn’t illustrate the central character and show us anything new about him, I’m thinking of the misanthrope or Cadwallader Crabtree depending on what Smollett chose to call him.

It felt like the book needed an editor to stop it being sold by the pound.

The best lesson is about the follies of humanity across time and how we remain surrounded by knaves in every profession.

[Jack Milton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Profoundly odd novel sitting uncomfortably between what we recognise as contemporary readers but also strange and archaic phrases: “gadzooks”, “Zounds” etc. At times incredibly tedious and at others absolutely hilarious. One memorable section involves the voiding of both ends after a disastrous dinner party.

Bonus points awarded for “transports of rage” and the absence of any emotion that isn’t pure hyperbole. Everyone is constantly on the verge of swooning or bubbling over into violence at any given moment.

[Yung4nboi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, one of several brick-sized 18th century British picaresque novels, and since the only other I've read is Tom Jones, and since that's the only other book of this kind I've read I'm going to start by trying to understand why I enjoyed Smollett's work and yet spent 600 pages reading Tom Jones in anticipation of when it was going to start getting good before finally throwing in the towel.

Both begin in almost identical fashion, familiarizing the reader with several characters and each ones situations and relations between them, before giving any focus to the titular character. Both follow an episodic picaresque structure, Peregrine Pickle more so, and yet despite that it feels like more continuous, it feels like a steady stream slowly flowing to its eventual destination, taking regular breaks and always remaining funny, whilst in Tom Jones a clear goal is set out quite early on and yet the way contains far more repetitive meandering. The story moves forward only due to misunderstandings, usually caused by simple bad timing, and therefore although the geography of the book changes, the story feels stuck in the same place for hundreds of pages, and comedically, for me at least, runs out of steam after probably the 4th time that a fight breaks out in a pub because of some amusing confusion or argument.

Smollett's use of humour is genuinely funny throughout, Peregrine's pranks are constant and yet never feel tired, and the comedy is used in some less obvious ways too. Take the Commodore Hawser Trunnion's (who alongside his two garrisoned ship-mates Jack Hatchway and Tom Pipes have instantly become three of my favourite characters in English literature) death scene around the midway point of the novel. When first introduced to the Commodore and his companions and their unerring dedication to nautical speech and sailing metaphors its nothing more than a funny bit of characterisation, yet the fact the Commodore still speaks this way just hours from dying makes his death more impactful and poetic than anything which could have been said in an outburst of poetical profusions.

Both Jones and Peregrine are shaped by their circumstances, largely familial, but Peregrine feels much more his own man, his actions seem to come from him and him only, he knows who he is, whereas for me Tom Jones is a complete non-entity even to himself. One thing I will say though, is that maybe Peregrine knows himself so well that he see's no reason to change, he is the same person as a 6 year old playing pranks on his teachers and classmates and as a fully grown adult by the novels end despite his many experiences.

The main love interest, Emilia Gauntlet, is also a strong character in her own right. Yes maybe she wants more or less the same things that most 'goodly virgin maidens' in these types of novels do, but she remains wholly her own person, especially in her willingness to let people know what she doesn't want, and what she doesn't want she rejects outright. No better shown than when Peregrine tries to drunkenly bed his life long 'object of desire' after a masquerade ball and she decimates him in her rejection, laying the foulness of his actions and current character bare in front of him, and us.

“Sir, I scorn to upbraid you with a repetition of your former vows and protestations, nor will I recapitulate the little arts you have practised to ensnare my heart; because, though by dint of the most perfidious dissimulation you have found means to deceive my opinion, your utmost efforts have never been able to lull the vigilance of my conduct, or to engage my affection beyond the power of discarding you without a tear, whenever my honour should demand such a sacrifice. Sir, you are unworthy of my concern or regret, and the sigh that now struggles from my breast is the result of sorrow, for my own want of discernment. As for your present attempt upon my chastity, I despise your power, as I detest your intention. Though, under the mask of the most delicate respect, you have decoyed me from the immediate protection of my friends, and contrived other impious stratagems to ruin my peace and reputation, I confide too much in my own innocence, and the authority of the law, to admit one thought of fear, much less to sink under the horror of this shocking situation, into which I have been seduced. Sir, your behaviour on this occasion is, in all respects, low and contemptible. For, ruffian as you are, you durst not harbour the thought of executing your execrable scheme, while you knew my brother was near enough to prevent or revenge the insult; so that you must not only be a treacherous villain, but also a most despicable coward.” This is as close as I can imagine an 18th century novel can come to what today would a 'get the fuck away from me you freak'

After this the novels really begins to shift in tone. Whereas the first half of the book, we see Peregrine devilishness again and again and yet his exploits remain favoured by fortune, the second half in which the love of Commodore Trunnion is gone with his death and Emilia's love leaves him after her complete rejection of him, so too does fortune leave his life also. I might suggest that with this Smollett's meaning to be that despite how contemptible and full of folly and nonsense human society is, to have the love of and for others is the greatest fortune of all, with which everything else falls into place, and without it no good will come to you. Once Peregrine has alienated himself from his love, his friends and his family his affairs fall into ruin, he ends up bankrupt and in a Debtor's Prison, his rejection of love from those who offer him help brings him to the brink of suicide, yet once love re-enters his life suddenly all his affairs are put into place and he gets his happy ever after ending.

I was not a fan of the two lengthy inserted narratives, which from what I can understand are both based on the lives of real people at the time, however, and the book could have been some 120 pages shorter and better for it. I'm sure on their own they are fine stories, but I spent the bulk of time reading them impatient to get back to Peregrine's own tale.

In the end there may not be all too much to learn from Peregrine's adventures, there is however, plenty to enjoy and much to be entertained and charmed by.

“I need not talk of Pipes, because I know you'll do for him without any recommendation; the fellow has sailed with me in many a hard gale, and I'll warrant him as stout a seaman as ever set face to the weather. But I hope you'll take care of the rest of my crew, and not disrate them after I am dead, in favour of new followers. As for that young woman, Ned Gauntlet's daughter, I'm informed as how she's an excellent wench, and has a respect for you; whereby, if you run her on board in an unlawful way, I leave my curse upon you, and trust you will never prosper in the voyage of life. But I believe you are more of an honest man, than to behave so much like a pirate. I beg, of all love, you wool take care of your constitution, and beware of running foul of harlots, who are no better than so many mermaids, that sit upon rocks in the sea, and hang out a fair face for the destruction of passengers; thof I must say, for my own part, I never met with any of those sweet singers, and yet I have gone to sea for the space of thirty years. But howsomever, steer your course clear of all such brimstone b—s. Shun going to law, as you would shun the devil; and look upon all attorneys as devouring sharks, or ravenous fish of prey. As soon as the breath is out of my body, let minute guns be fired, till I am safe under ground. I would also be buried in the red jacket I had on when I boarded and took the Renummy. Let my pistols, cutlass, and pocket-compass be laid in the coffin along with me. Let me be carried to the grave by my own men, rigged in the black caps and white shirts which my barge's crew were wont to wear; and they must keep a good look out, that none of your pilfering rascallions may come and heave me up again, for the lucre of what they can get, until the carcase is belayed by a tombstone. As for the motto, or what you call it, I leave that to you and Mr. Jolter, who are scholars; but I do desire, that it may not be engraved in the Greek or Latin lingos, and much less in the French, which I abominate, but in plain English, that, when the angel comes to pipe all hands, at the great day, he may know that I am a British man, and speak to me in my mother tongue. And now I have no more to say, but God in heaven have mercy upon my soul, and send you all fair weather, wheresoever you are bound.”

3.5/5

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Смоллет продолжает традиции сатирического английского романа о "полугерое" - человеке благородном, но обладающем в то же время и многими недостатками. Честно говоря, всю первую половину романа Пикль почти полностью похож на Тома Джонса, найдёныша, только сравнение идёт в пользу Филдинга. При всех недостатках, Джонс остаётся преданным своей прекрасной Софии, чтя её как существо возвышенное и чётко различая похоть и любовь. Пикль через какое-то время перестаёт уважать Эмилию и даже покушается на её целомудрие, заявляя, что не намерен связывать себя цепями брака. Честно говоря, такое поведение вызывает отвращение. Причём оно не возникает единомоментно, но подготавливается постепенно, потому что детские шалости необузданного парнишки, обделённого родительским расположением, превращаются в довольно опасные каверзы, угрожающие здоровью других персонажей. Также Пикль часто берётся судить там, где его суждение вовсе не требуется, берясь за исполнение выставленного приговора с жаром и выдумкой. К примеру, весьма неприятно, как Пикль берётся наказывать супруга за весьма обоснованную ревность к своей жене, с которой Пикль уже нашалился вдоволь.
Всё же поведение Пикля объясняется в примечании переводчиков, так что я в конце концов склоняюсь оправдать персонажа хотя бы частично. В книгу всунуто два мемуара, из-за которых, честно говоря, я чуть книгу не бросила. Один мемуар - похождения некой лэди. Весьма сухое изложение фактов необузданной страсти. Хоть и не в деталях, но мемуар весьма точно и кратко передаёт прочитанное до той поры произведение, т.е. все любовные похождения Пикля. В комментарии говорится, что это подлинный мемуар некой светской львицы, покровительствовавшей автору. Если таковы были общепринятые нравы в высшем обществе, то добродетельность Эмилии оказывается чем-то совершенно искусственным и даже действительно малоуместным. Хотя я по прочтении сцены, когда Пикль хотел обесчестить любимую, пришла в ужас - мне-то казалось, что в таком случае для Эмилии было бы всё потеряно навечно. Да вроде бы и нет, грубость была весьма в обиходе, так что прощение было весьма уместно.
Вторая история - пересказ удивительных злоключений некоего наследника, который никак не может добиться хоть какой-нибудь справедливости. Тоже повествование весьма длинное и сухое, но я, уже наученная опытом, пробежала его не вчитываясь, так что сюжет пересказать не могу. Вполне возможно, что события заслуживают широчайшего внимания, но подача оставляет желать лучшего. К роману история не имеет ни малейшего отношения.
Пикль остаётся верным себе до конца. Под ударами судьбы он немного сдаётся, перестаёт заниматься развратом и расточительством, берётся за ум и за работу. Но если подбить итог, персонаж так и остаётся мне чуждым и малоинтересным. Не хватило Перегрину харизмы Чеззлвита и Джонса, а автору - остроты слова Стерна и живости стиля Филдинга. Я это прочитала, но рекомендовать кому-то я бы книгу побоялась.

[Alice Yoder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure I'm a Smollett fan. I didn't relate to any of the characters and the storyline was hard to follow, to me at least. I read it because it's on the 1001 Must-Read list, otherwise I probably wouldn't have ever read it, and I won't be recommending it to anyone either.

[Monty Milne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed Roderick Random so I was disappointed I didn't enjoy this more. Like Roderick, the best parts are those which deal with matters nautical - in Peregrine's case the richly comic figure of his insane uncle Commodore Trunnion. Unfortunately the book goes downhill after the splendid first 50 pages or so (and there are still over 500 to go...)

Peregrine is not a very likeable character. He is prickly and easily offended and hypocritical when it comes to relations with women, and enjoys crude and violent practical jokes, sometimes on those who don't really deserve to be his victims. The books is just too long, and the Memoirs of a Woman of Quality which is sandwiched into the tale held very little interest for me, being mostly an exhausting and confusing series of complicated and improbable love affairs with men identified, annoyingly, by such soubriquets as Mr A-, Lord A-, the Duke of B-, the Earl of C-, etc etc ad nauseam.

I'm glad I read this book, if only for the splendid Commodore Trunnion. When he bows out of the novel there are still several hundred pages to go, and although his henchmen Pipes and Hatchway are also amusing (they transfer their allegiance to Peregrine), they don't match their erstwhile commander.

[Julianne Quaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peregrine Pickle is a scathing satire on 18th century English society with commentary on a broad scale on polite society, the European tour, prison life, learned societies, card sharps, soothsayers and fawning obsequiousness to name a few. It provides a good insight into the deplorable lives of women in England 250 years ago. Within the satire is the story of our hero Peregrine a proud but loveable rebel with a heart, but not the fortune, to help those he thinks deserving of his support. After losing the love of his life, through bad behaviour, and all his fortune he is too proud to accept assistance from those who he has helped and he ends up in prison with unpaid debts. He learns lessons from his downfall and triumphs in the end. This book was well read in its time but fell out of favour in the Victorian era for being too ribald - well worth the read.

[Norman Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smollett is all over the map with this book. At times it seems a romance, at others an adventure, but mostly it's the wanderings of the eponymous protagonist, who engages in bad behavior throughout his youth, imposes on his friends, and suffers many ill turns of fortune, mostly due to his own failings. I listened to the first half of this as an audiobook, and the last half as a hardcover.

The second part of the book drags, mainly because it is padded out by two roman à clef stories which have nothing to do with the plot.

The copy I borrowed contains copious endnotes which suggest much of the main novel is aimed at contemporary acquaintances and literary enemies of Smollett.

[Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book as much as I did Humphrey Clinker though it was interesting nonetheless. At some points I thought I was reading the script of a Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill film at others I was more engaged. The Memoirs of a Lady of Quality I thought interesting though a bit repetitive. Striking to me were the social class differences and the fact that a young gentleman was considered honourable though he did not scruple to hop into the beds of many a country wench. There were definitely funny moments in it. This was the unexpurgated version of the novel.

[Dan Claffey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly tiresome to read. I had a very difficult time with this as I just could not relate to any of the characters. In my opinion a lot of this novel's relevance has been lost to father time and no longer holds much to recommend it other than being Dickens' inspiration. I do see the similarities to Dickens' writing, but he vastly improved upon Smollett's style and his work are much more readable and enjoyable, not to mention retain some of their relevance. Don't waste much time on this one unless for scholarly purposes.

[Reid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Silly people doing ridiculous things. Yes, yes, I know, I am supposed to cut it some slack because it is a classic of the form (a broad, comic, somewhat bawdy tale) and was written in the 18th century. But, really, when you come right down to it, the titular character is something of a jerk. He is a womanizer, a dandy, and seems to take special joy in fairly cruel practical jokes and executing plots to give his enemies a comeuppance. I did laugh out loud a few times, but for the most part I found the story repetitive and dull.

[Kit Kincade · Rating 3 out of 5]

(This is not the edition I was reading, but Goodreads did not allow me to add an older copy). James Clifford's Introduction indicated that this novel was based on the popularity and type of novel as _Tom Jones_, but it hardly seems a fair comparison. This is definitely a picaresque novel and the notion of adventures seems a fair comparison. And I could agree that the overall approach was, perhaps, inspired by the popularity of Fielding's novel-I find it really quite different in the construction of characters, especially the hero. While curious, it was not my favorite Smollett.

[Ravenskya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of the Johnny Depp movie "The Libertine." Our "Hero" is an appalling character who I assume we are supposed to either find funny or love because of his idiotic, selfish ideals. Well written but our lead is so obnoxious that I found myself more irritated then enjoying the read. I can't say that I would recommend it to anyone other then people trying to get a grasp of people during the times.

[Karen]

* 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list: Comedy

Selected by the Guardian's Review team and a panel of expert judges, this list includes only novels – no memoirs, no short stories, no long poems – from any decade and in any language. Originally published in thematic supplements – love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel – they appear here for the