The Vicar Of Wakefield

Title: The Vicar Of Wakefield

Author: Oliver Goldsmith

The Vicar Of Wakefield tells the story of a tempestuous period in the life of the Primrose family. Dr. Charles Primrose, the Vicar of Wakefield, lives a simple, happy life with his wife Debora, and children Gegore, Olivia and Sophia. He is well-off as he invests wisely on a fortune inherited from a distant relative. On the day of George's wedding to Arabella Wilmot, Charles Primrose receives the news of losing all his money and becoming bankrupt due to the absconding of his investing agent with all the money. The wedding is cancelled by Arabella's father who believed that the Primrose family would not be able to provide care for his daughter. George, who had studied college in Oxford, moves to the city to look for a job. And, the rest of the Primrose family shifts to the countryside into a modest living. The book details and describes the troubles, and the happiness that the Primrose family encounter as they try to live a full life. 

The characters are a perfect sample of the era that the book is set in. Set in a Victorian timeline with vicars and their estates, it reflects the cultural mindsets of that era. Those who read a lot of old classics of a similar time period, will feel a familiarity with the ideals of these characters and their storyline. 

It is a novel that stresses on the strength of family and relations, and reinforces the belief in love, faith and determination that holds the bonds between the family unbreakable. It is a novel on the lines of sentimental family drama. It is an old classic, and the novel has been referred many times in many other classics like David Copperfield by Dickens, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. For those of us who love classics, it's a gem in the shelf!