JONATHAN SWIFT
Irish author (1667-1745)
Biography:
Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin in 1667. He had no father and his uncles decided to take charge of his education. After his university years in Dublin, he left Ireland and joint his mother in Leicester. He became William Temple's secretary, quite an important retired statesman and MP. Swift lived under his supervision for ten years.
His job allowed him to attend theology courses and in 1694, he was named Prebent at Kilroot (near Belfast). But he soon comes back with Temple in Surrey, and it was there that he wrote The Battle of the Books and Tale of a Tub (1704), although they weren't published for several more years.
After Temple's death, Swift goes back to Ireland. In 1701 Swift's career began in earnest by writing his first politic pamphlet, favouring the Whigs, and by anonymously publishing his treatise, Dissensions in Athens and Rome, which caused a stir. Over the next decade, Jonathan Swift published numerous essays and pamphlets, most of which were commentaries on politics and current events. During this time, he also served as the editor of the Whigs' publication, The Examiner.
He subsequently wrote many other pamphlets, treatises and poems. In November of 1726, Gulliver's Travels appeared on the market. The book became an instant success, with every class of people clamoring to read it.
Using his sharp wit and even sharper tongue, he penned documents that mocked society, religion, human nature, England, politics, and nearly every other facet of daily life.
Jonathan Swift on the Internet:
Detailed biography of Jonathan Swift (in English)