The Vicar of Wakefield

The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith is a novel published in 1766. It depicts the fall and rise of the Primrose family, presided over by the benevolent vicar, the narrator of a fairy-tale plot of impersonation and deception, the abduction of a beautiful heroine and the machinations of an aristocratic villain. By turns comic and sentimental, the novel depicts domestic life and loving family relationships.