Enlightenment in Ruins

Griffin (18th-century and Irish studies, Univ. of Limerick) offers a fresh look at the career of Oliver Goldsmith. Departing from the view that Goldsmith's dabbling in varied themes and genres renders his canon a 'sentimental foil to Swift,' Griffin presents Goldsmith as representing complex political strands rooted in his Irish sympathies. This critical stance allows readers to appreciate the tensions between Enlightenment contexts and Jacobite politics. The study consists of four essays. The first chapters deal with Goldsmith's survey of human nature and examine contemporary theories. The second section concerns political landscapes and deals specifically with Irish themes and concerns. In the final chapter, Griffin's interpretation of 'The Deserted Village' gathers the considerations of the previous chapters and situates the poetic critique in an Irish context. This volume, part of Bucknell's 'Transits' series, devoted to 18th-century studies, offers a vital contribution toward understanding the work of an often underappreciated author. The extensive notes and bibliography support further study of Oliver Goldsmith by specialists in Irish and 18th-century literature. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE * Enlightenment in Ruins offers a critical revaluation of Oliver Goldsmiths contributions to enlightenment thought, focusing particularly on elements that align with Irish strains produced by contemporaries such as Edmund Burke. Griffin asserts that Goldsmith has been too easily dismissed as a mawkish purveyor of simplistic nostalgia, when his imaginative works question cultural relations, parody fascination with the exotic, and critique the British imperial project. * Intelligencer * Griffin's new monograph, Enlightenment in Ruins: The Geographies of Oliver Goldsmith, extends this analysis to Goldsmith's entire career and offers a compelling picture of the self contradictions of Enlightenment culture at midcentury. * SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *

Michael Griffin lectures in eighteenth-century and Irish studies at the University of Limerick, where he is Director of the Eighteenth Century Research Group. He has published widely on eighteenth-century studies, utopian satire, and Irish writing in English.

Acknowledgments Chronology of Goldsmiths career List of Abbreviations Introduction Part 1: Comparative views of races and nations 1. The cultural climate: natural histories of national character 2. The lie of the land: liberty and travel Part 2: Political landscapes and bodies politic 3. Delicate allegories: Ireland and the East 4. Geographies of Ruin: Ireland, America and Auburns absentees Ill Fares the Land: Conclusion Bibliography Index