This edition of Jonathan Swift's basic works contains the authoritative texts of all his most important prose writings as well as many shorter pieces, poems, and letter extracts. Included are "Gulliver's Travels, Swift's devastating picture of human nature and human foibles; "A Tale of a Tub, his scathing attack on the intellectual culture and religious excesses of his time; "The Battel of the Books, his defense of the classical tradition; and the unforgettable "Modest Proposal, in which he proposes that the Irish, in order to avoid starvation, eat their children.

This 'Norton Critical Edition' presents the rull range of Swift's writing, including not only the major literary prose works but also substantial poetic and political writings. The texts are accompanied by annotations and an introduction.

Jonathan Swift: Our Dean (along with its companion, Jonathan Swift: Irish Blow-in) aspires to be the most accurate and engaging critical biography of Jonathan Swift ever. It builds on the thorough research of Irvin Ehrenpreis’s highly regarded 1962–1983 three-volume biography, but re-interprets Swift’s life and works by re-assessing his 1714–1720 repudiating the pretender while remaining friends with many who did not, by acknowledging that he likely had a physical affair with Esther Vanhomrigh between 1719 and 1723, by questioning whether in any sense he was a misanthrope, by noting his real care for Esther Johnson in her final illness, and by emphasizing the mutual love between Swift and his caretakers during his final difficult years.

Jonathan Swift: Irish Blow-in (along with its companion, Jonathan Swift: Our Dean) aspires to be the most accurate and engaging critical biography of Jonathan Swift ever published. It builds on the thorough research of Irvin Ehrenpreis’s highly regarded 1962–1983 three-volume biography, but reinterprets Swift’s life and works by reassessing his childhood, stressing his exuberance, honestly portraying his intense affection for Esther Johnson (he called her “saucebox” and not “Stella” when she was in her twenties), and not projecting Swift’s later-in-life angry behavior back onto his first forty-seven years.

This authoritative edition brings together a unique selection from the full range of Swift's fifty-year career--prose, poetry, and letters--to give the essence of his work and thinking. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is best known as the author of Gulliver's Travels, which alone would have secured his place in the history of English literature. But in addition to this classic fictional satire, Swift wrote numerous works concerning politics, religion, and Ireland, some savage, others humorous, all suffused with his tremendous wit and inventiveness. This anthology includes satirical works such as A Tale of a Tub and The Battle of the Books, political pamphlets, pieces for the popular press, poems, and a generous selection from Swift's correspondence. Presented chronologically, the anthology offers a new and clearer awareness of the unity as well as the complexity of Swift's vision, and the powerful bonds between disparate pieces.