Title: The life and adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves;
Authors: Smollett, T. 1721-1771; Evans, David, 1939-
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 1973
Subjects: Knights and knighthood Fiction; Quests (Expeditions) Fiction; Mentally ill Fiction
Abstract: "The novel, Smollett's shortest, differs stylistically from his previous works. The most attractive of his heroes, Sir Launcelot is virtuous and strange, and he is surrounded by a Smollettian menagerie whose various jargons are part of this novel's linguistic virtuosity and satire. Sir Launcelot's character is an English naturalization of Quixote. Although Sir Launcelot, is not the object of the author's satire, an idealistic madness is central to both characters. In Smollett's work the theme of madness is integral to the relationship between self and society as the work ponders both the constitution of madness and the alternatives to revenge."