Customer Reviews:
 Satire or fairy-tale? June 6, 2008
I enjoyed this book because it stands the test of time and is still easy to read after 250 years! It is a satire on provincial politics, following the adventures of a country parson called Mr primrose. Although he is conceited and exasperatingly optimistic through awful experiences, Goldsmith can't resist finishing it off like a fairy-tale. Amusing, simple-yet-stimulating, and some impressive vocabulary. Someone who knows about political and social history would recognise its nuances. But it's an amusing read even if you don't.
"I . . . chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well." October 29, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Told with a great deal of tongue-in-cheek humor and wit, The Vicar of Wakefield, published in 1766, features the delightfully innocent Dr. Primrose, a cleric who believes that kindness and virtue will always be rewarded. Surrounded by his wife and six children, Dr. Primrose lives a comfortable life, but he becomes the victim of theft when his broker runs off with all his investments, leaving him penniless, just as his son George is about to be married. When George's marriage is canceled due to his lack of prospects, the family moves to the country, where Dr. Primrose becomes vicar of a rural church.
One disaster follows another, involving Dr. Primrose and his family. The poor but kind Mr. Burchell, who saved daughter Sophia from drowning and befriended the family, later shocks Dr. Primrose by slandering the daughters and ruining their chances to become companions to two women in London. The sale of the family's only horses to a trickster leaves them virtually penniless. His older daughter Olivia is abducted and "ruined." The house catches fire, and their landlord demands his rent, knowing that the family has nothing. No matter how outrageous the calamities (and those mentioned above are only a sample), Dr. Primrose insists on seeing the bright side, even when there is no bright side. Virtue and goodness, he is convinced, will always be rewarded.
Owing as much to eighteenth century satiric comedy as to the developing novel, the story of Dr. Primrose and his family satirizes the sentimentality of early novels, such as Pamela, while it makes use of sentimental devices to further its plot. Poking gentle fun at Dr. Primrose for his innocence, Goldsmith never mocks or belittles him. Coincidence, mistaken identities, the humiliation of all the villains, innumerable surprises, and the restoration of Dr. Primrose's fortunes lead to the "deserved" happiness of Dr. Primrose and his family in the conclusion. Virtue is indeed rewarded, and evil is indeed punished. A gentle novel filled with charm, The Vicar of Wakefield feels like a "lady's novel," one which lacks the bawdy excess of Fielding and the unique humor of Sterne, while never taking itself too seriously. n Mary Whipple
 Weak February 2, 2001
10 out of 24 found this review helpful
I really didn't find much to like in this book. I thought it was fairly predictable and comes out more like the plot of a pantomime than anything else. The villains are ultra villainous and the good people are ultra good and then there are those who are quite nice but a bit gullible. The Christian sentimentality didn't do a lot for me and the whole, "Whoops it's all be a big mistake!" denouement was utterly ridiculous and made any chance of dignity the rest of the plot may have had die a death there and then.
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