The Expedition of Humphry Clinker

About this book

Matthew Bramble, a Welsh squire who suffers from gout and a sour temper but has a generous heart, travels through England and Scotland with his sister Tabitha, a husband-hunting spinster; his nephew Jery, an Oxford student; his romantic young niece Lydia; and Tabitha's maid, Win Jenkins, who mangles every long word she uses. They describe the same places, Bath, London, Harrogate, Edinburgh and the Highlands, in very different letters home. On the way they pick up a ragged, pious young servant, Humphry Clinker, who turns out to be more closely related to the family than anyone expected.

Context and significance

Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) published his last and gentlest novel in the year of his death. Its many voices make it one of the funniest comic novels in English, and it offers a lively picture of Britain in the eighteenth century. His first novel is Roderick Random.

About the author