OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1730 - 1774)

Goldsmith was an essayist, poet, playwright and hack writer. Of English-Irish background, he made a meteroic rise to popularity as a writer due in part to his easy, very readable style.

Never very happy as a student, Goldsmith pursued a number of different interests, none of which proved long-lasting. Even going to medical school in Edinburgh was unsuccessful. When arriving in London in 1756, he had virtually no money and few prospects for a job.

From nothing he rose very rapidly to prominance as a satirical essayist. After beginning his career as a translator and reviewer, he wrote a series for a periodical, essays which were to collected as The Citizen of the World. During this time, Goldsmith was becoming well-connected, having become friends with such notables as Sir Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke and Samuel Johnson. With these three, Goldsmith was a founding member of The Club, an intellectual group which met weekly. Other distinguished friends incuded David Garrick and James Boswell.

In spite of his acquaintances, Goldsmith remained arrogant, envious of fellow writers and poorly disciplined. He was always in need of money to satisfy his habit of gambling. He was unable to manage his finance affairs so he was forced to write any number of worthless pieces simply in order to pay bills. This explains the reason for his two-volume history of England, more a re-hash of previously written work, but in his more readable style.

His best novel is certainly The Vicar of Wakefield. It sentimentality and idealized way of life helped make the noel a popular form in the 18th Century. She Stoops to Conquer is his best play and is still a classic, often performed. His written work dealt mostly with satirical views of English society, foten through varying point of view. His characters are strong and situations often farcical.

Boswell"s Life of Samuel Johnson describes many of Goldsmith's antics. He was constantly shocking his friends with his outrageous behavior. His associations with high society never seemed to have a very positive effect on his dealings with the public or his extravance .

Goldsmith died of a chronic kidney ailment.