A Modest Proposal
Subtitle: for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick
Series: Zeba Books Classics
Publisher: Zeba Books
Published: 13-01-2026
Place of publication: India
Language: eng
Format: Digital
Number of pages: 39
ISBN-13: 9788199113596
Copyright date: 2026
First sentence: It is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabbin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms."
Description: Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal is a powerful satirical reflection on the economic, social, and ethical conditions existing in eighteenth-century Ireland. 

Using the character of an unemotional reformer, the essay makes the distressing proposal of selling underprivileged children for subsistence, highlighting the callousness inherent in utilitarian thinking and societal apathy. Swift employs piercing irony, logical mimicry, and measured humour to translate rationality into a moral denunciation, resulting in a text of lasting relevance that denounces unfairness and warns against harsh governmental policies. 

Zeba Books Classics presents enduring works that challenge authority and remain relevant today. Carefully prepared, unabridged, and true to the original texts, these books invite readers into a timeless conversation.

This edition is published by Zeba Books. Visit us at https://zebabooks.org/genre/classics for more timeless classics.