Tobias Smollett

The Adventures of Roderick Random Tobias Smollett

Although Roderick Random comes from a wealthy landowning family in Scotland, his early life is beset by vicissitudes. Soon after Roderick's birth, his mother dies. When his father thereupon marries a servant in the household, he is disowned by his own father. Heartbroken and penniless, he disappears, leaving his son Roderick in the care of his grandfather, who is prevailed upon to send the lad to school for the sake of the family reputation. At school, Roderick, although a great favorite with the boys his own age, is the butt of the masters. His whippings are numerous, for he is used as a whipping boy whenever something goes wrong and the real culprit cannot be determined. In Roderick's fourteenth year, however, there is a change in his fortunes. His mother's brother, Tom Bowling, a lieutenant in the navy, comes to visit his young nephew.