All You Can Books

The Vicar of Wakefield

Oliver Goldsmith

10,329 ratings
The Vicar of Wakefield | Oliver Goldsmith

The Vicar of Wakefield

Download Here

Download Audiobook

Listen Online

Download eBook

Read eBook Online

Download eBook PDF
‘The Vicar of Wakefield’ was Oliver Goldsmith’s only novel.
It is the story of the family of Dr Primrose, a benevolent vicar, and follows them through their fall from fortune and their ultimate rise again. The story provides insight into family life and circumstances in the mid 18th century and the plot has many aspects of a pantomime like quality: Impersonation, deception, an aristocratic villain and the abduction of a beautiful heroine.
Goldsmith himself dissipated his savings on gambling whilst a student at Trinity College Dublin and subsequently traveled in Europe sustaining himself by playing the flute and disputing doctrinal matters in monasteries and universities. Later he worked as an apothecary’s assistant, a doctor and a school usher.
wer had he; Wisdom and worth were all he had, But these were all to me.

'The blossom opening to the day, The dews of heaven refin'd, Could nought of purity display, To emulate his mind.

'The dew, the blossom on the tree, With charms inconstant shine; Their charms were his, but woe to me, Their constancy was mine.

'For still I try'd each fickle art, Importunate and vain; And while his passion touch'd my heart, I triumph'd in his pain.

'Till quite dejected with my scorn, He left me to my pride; And sought a solitude forlorn, In secret where he died.

'But mine the sorrow, mine the fault, And well my life shall pay; I'll seek the solitude he sought, And stretch me where he lay.

'And there forlorn despairing hid, I'll lay me down and die: 'Twas so for me that Edwin did, And so for him will I.'

'Forbid it heaven!' the hermit cry'd, And clasp'd her to his breast: The wondering fair one turn'd to chide, 'Twas Edwin's self that prest.

'Turn, Angelina, ever dear, My charmer, turn to see, Thy own, thy long-lost Edwin here, Restor'd to love and thee.

'Thus let me hold thee to my heart, And ev'ry care resign: And shall we never, never part, My life,—my all that's mine.

'No, never, from this hour to part, We'll live and love so true; The sigh that tends thy constant heart, Shall break thy Edwin's too.'

While this ballad was reading, Sophia seemed to mix an air of tenderness with her approbation. But our tranquillity was soon disturbed by the report of a gun just by us, and immediately after a man was seen bursting through the hedge, to take up the game he had killed. This sportsman was the 'Squire's chaplain, who had shot one of the blackbirds that so agreeably entertained us. So loud a report, and so near, startled my daughters; and I could perceive that Sophia in the fright had thrown herself into Mr Burchell's arms for prot

Cindy 07/23/2018
Our book club was looking for a light, classic, novel and I suggested this based on the good memories I had of reading it when I was younger. I am not sure how the younger girls in the club will rate this book but while I found it slow in getting started the delightful ending made up for it all. It
Gretchen 06/26/2012
I know that this is a classic. I had it recommended to me at a very early age by Louisa May Alcott via Jo March and with that august endorsement did not ever think that it could be anything less than utterly charming.

In spite of that, it has taken 45 years for me to get around to reading it and I wi
Kj 04/24/2009
You can't get very far into Victorian literature without tripping over references to The Vicar of Wakefield. Either the novel's heroine is reading the book, making fun of the book or trying to teach her French pupils how to translate the book. Oliver Goldsmith's 1766 novel is sort of the Moby Dick o

How It Works

30-day FREE trial

Get ALL YOU CAN BOOKS absolutely FREE for 30 days. Download our FREE app and enjoy unlimited downloads of our entire library with no restrictions.

UNLIMITED access

Have immediate access and unlimited downloads to over 200,000 books, courses, podcasts, and more with no restrictions.

Forever Downloads

Everything you download during your trial is yours to keep and enjoy for free, even if you cancel during the trial. Cancel Anytime. No risk. No obligations.

Significant Savings

For just $24.99 per month, you can continue to have unlimited access to our entire library. To put that into perspective, most other services charge the same amount for just one book!

Start Your Free Trial Now

Our Story

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

As avid readers, we understand the joy of immersing ourselves in a captivating story or getting lost in the pages of a good book. That's why we founded All You Can Books back in 2010, to create a platform where people can access an extensive library of quality content and discover new favorites.

Since our founding days, we’ve continuously added to our vast library and currently have over 200,000 titles, including ebooks, audiobooks, language learning courses, podcasts, bestseller summaries, travel books, and more! Our goal at All You Can Books is to ensure we have something for everyone.

Join our community of book lovers and explore the world of literature and beyond!