A Modest Proposal and Other Satires
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Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal and Other Satires brings together some of the sharpest and most unsettling writing of the eighteenth century. First published in 1729, A Modest Proposal is Swift’s notorious satirical essay in which he presents an apparently rational solution to Ireland’s poverty: that the children of the poor should be sold as food to the wealthy. Delivered in the measured language of an economic argument, this grotesque suggestion exposes the cruelty, indifference and hypocrisy underlying British rule and the treatment of the Irish poor. Swift’s extraordinary command of irony transforms political outrage into one of the most provocative works in English prose.
The other satires reveal the breadth of Swift’s imagination, moving between political corruption, religious controversy, human vanity and the absurdities of social life. His writing combines intellectual precision with savage humour, exposing the contradictions of an age that celebrated reason while tolerating profound injustice. Both fiercely political and remarkably entertaining, these works offer an essential introduction to Swift’s satirical genius and his enduring influence on English literature.
From the book
"I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work."
— Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal
On A Modest Proposal
“This approximately 4,000-word essay exhibits Swift at his merciless best.”
— The Guardian