This volume of Swift's work is unique in selecting from the full range of the prose, poetry, and letters spanning an active fifty-year writing career. The presentation of his work, being chronological rather than thematic, gives a much clearer feeling of how Swift's ideas developed and were expressed in different styles of writing. Some of the more familiar 'literary' and satirical pieces, such as "A Tale of a Tub" and "The Battle of the Books, " as well as political pamphlets, pieces for the popular press, and a good sample of correspondance, notably in his "Journal to Stella, " provides a lively commentary on the turbulent events of the time. There is no doubt that Swifts's 'certain uncommon way of thinking' inspired, teased, and affronted his own, and future generations.
Mark Twain once famously said "there was but one solitary thing about the past worth remembering, and that was the fact that it is past and can't be restored." Well, over recent years, The British Library, working with Microsoft has embarked on an ambitious programme to digitise its collection of 19th century books.
There are now 65,000 titles available (that's an incredible 25 million pages) of material ranging from works by famous names such as Dickens, Trollope and Hardy as well as many forgotten literary gems , all of which can now be printed on demand and purchased right here on Amazon.
Further information on The British Library and its digitisation programme can be found on The British Library website.