Oliver Goldsmith 
The Vicar of Wakefield (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s analysis: Literary analysis of Oliver Goldsmith’s essential work, ‘The Vicar of Wakefield’

Originally published in 1766, “The Vicar of Wakefield” is a popular novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith. This novel is considered Goldsmith’s masterpiece and was widely popular among Victorians in the late nineteenth century, becoming one of the most widely read novels of the Victorian era.

Considered an exemplary sentimental novel, “The Vicar of Wakefield” houses a complicated plot that follows the misfortunes of the Primrose family. A book about family endurance, the drama surrounds the characters of the family: Dr. Primrose as the
Vicar of Wakefield, his wife, and their many children. The Primrose’s idyllic country life is turned upside down when they lose their financial footing and a daughter is abducted…