Oliver Goldsmith 
The Vicar of Wakefield 

‘The Vicar of Wakefield’ is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians. The story revolves around The Vicar – Dr. Charles Primrose – who lives an idyllic life in a country parish with his wife Deborah, son George, daughters Olivia and Sophia, and three other children. He is wealthy due to investing an inheritance he received from a deceased relative, and he donates the £35 that his job pays annually to the widows and orphans of local clergy. On the evening of George’s wedding to wealthy Arabella Wilmot, the Vicar loses all his money through the bankruptcy of his merchant investor who has left town abruptly.