Tobias Smollett

The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (Esprios Classics) Tobias Smollett

The Expedition of Humphry Clinker was the last of the picaresque novels of Tobias Smollett, published in London in June 1771 (just three months before Smollett's death), and is considered by many to be his best and funniest work. It is an epistolary novel, presented in the form of letters written by six characters. Much of the comedy arises from differences in the descriptions of the same events and places seen by the participants. Attributions of motives and descriptions of behaviour show wild variation and reveal much about the character of the teller. The setting, amidst the high-society spa towns, inns, and seaside resorts of the 18th century, provides his characters with many opportunities for satirical observations on English and Scottish life, manners, and politics.