The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

[Diane]

Rating: 3 stars


A satire on sentimental fiction, this is the story of a clergyman who loses his fortune in a bad transaction and the effects this loss of money and status has on him and his family. Like many books of this era, the main themes revolve around class, gender, and family. While this was a huge hit in its day, I found it somewhat boring compared to more modern literature. I was touched, howeever, by the obvious affection the main character had for his wife and children.

[Kristel]

From Wikipedia; subtitled A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself – is a novel by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians. I thought I had read this, but so long ago I could not even begin to tell you what it might be about, so I put it on my tbr takedown list for 2021 and now that I've read it, I still can't say whether I read it before. It is a tale written by (supposedly) the vicar himself that relates his idyllic life as vicar, his family, and the mishaps they experience. The history of how it come to be published (to pay rent) is interesting indeed. It was sold to Francis Newberry (relative of John Newberry) and went unpublished until 1766. STructure includes some poetry, some sermons, and fables. It is a fictitious memoir as it is supposedly written by the vicar himself. The novel supports the basic goodness of man and also a satire on the sentimental novel. There is similarity to Job's difficulties in the book of Job (Holy Bible). The novel is mentioned in George Eliot's Middlemarch, Stendhal's The Life of Henry Brulard, Arthur Schopenhauer's "The Art of Being Right", Jane Austen's Emma, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Sarah Grand's The Heavenly Twins, Charlotte Brontë's The Professor and Villette, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women and in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, as well as his Dichtung und Wahrheit. It is on several lists including; 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die and The Guardian's 1001 Novel's Everyone Must Read. Rating 3.8

[Pamela]

Fictional memoir and a satire on the popular ‘sentimental novels’, this tells of the misfortunes of the vicar who loses his money to a dishonest agent. He dearly loves his wife and children and constantly encourages them to live an honest and virtuous life, even though they often feel he is being foolish and naive in his attitudes to life.

I really enjoyed the comic parts of the novel, and the ever more ridiculous misfortunes that befall the family. These parts were entertaining and clever. I was less keen on the moralising and sermons that were interspersed into the narrative - thankfully these were relatively brief - but I did find the affection and gratitude of the family charming.

I admired Goldsmith’s structuring of the novel, and the way he disguised its complexity in the seemingly straightforward narrative of the vicar. I can see why it is a classic and much admired.

[Gail]

The Vicar of Wakefield is a classic satire on the sentimental novels of the time and it also was a platform upon which to discuss politics which encompassed class, money, gender and loyalty to the country and king. Interesting to me was the fact that there were characters in the book that were very much for the "country" and very much against "the king".
From the very first pages we are led to believe that although all sorts of misfortunes and tragedies would fall upon our main character and his family, nevertheless integrity, honesty and humility would ultimately win out. Therefore the reader doesn't need to worry about any serious consequences of his downfall and can just enjoy the ride and the tender emotions present in the love of family. Goldsmith adds quite a few sermons and sometimes a completely tangental story or two presumably to pad the short book a bit. However, it was still an enjoyable read and although the ending stretches belief by quite a bit, our dastardly villain gets his comeuppance and the family recovers to enjoy honor and some small fortune.

[Rosemary]

I enjoyed this short classic and in some ways typical 18th-century novel, with the main characters undergoing various kinds of trials and misfortunes before virtue wins out. It was a satire, but I think a lot of readers at the time and in the Victorian era would have taken it seriously. The vicar was a lovely man, persisting in trying to influence his wife and children to be less worldly while almost always giving in to their whims in practice.