Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Tobias Smollett — Reading Companion

Epistolary Architecture in Humphry Clinker

The table of contents for Humphry Clinker is built entirely from letter headings, each addressed to a specific person. The most frequent recipient is Sir Watkin Phillips, Bart. of Jesus college, Oxon, appearing dozens of times. Other regular correspondents include Dr. Lewis, Mrs. Gwyllim (house-keeper at Brambleton-hall), and Miss Laetitia Willis at Gloucester. This pattern creates a web of relationships: the doctor, the housekeeper, the Oxford friend, and the young woman.

The letters are dated from Bath, April 23 and 26, grounding the narrative in a specific time and place. The index does not reveal plot, but the sheer number of letters to Sir Watkin Phillips suggests he is a central confidant. The repetition of addresses—often identical—hints at a stable network of characters, with Brambleton-hall as a fixed point.

Chapter Titles as Thematic Clues

In Ferdinand Count Fathom, chapter titles offer a window into the novel's concerns. Titles like “The Vicissitude of Fortune,” “Fresh Cause for Exerting His Equanimity and Fortitude,” and “The Biter Is Bit” signal a pattern of reversal and moral testing. Later chapters such as “Fathom Justifies the Proverb, ‘What's bred in the bone will never come out of the flesh’” and “The Art of Borrowing Further Explained” suggest a focus on character flaws and social maneuvers.

The index also lists illustrations: “He Opened the Repository,” “You Are the Count de Melvil.” These visual cues, though uncontextualized, point to key scenes of revelation or identity. The chapter titles collectively emphasize fortune, disguise, and retribution, but without the full text, the exact outcomes remain inferred.

Historical Scope and Structural Choices

The History of England volume, a continuation of Hume's work, begins with “State of the Nation Immediately After the Revolution” and covers events like the coronation, abolition of hearth-money, and the Toleration Act. The table of contents shows a chronological approach, with chapters on continental affairs, war with France, and parliamentary proceedings. The index lists maps and illustrations, though none are detailed.

This volume contrasts with the novels by its formal, political language. The index does not indicate how Smollett balances narrative with analysis, but the chapter headings suggest a focus on institutional change. The inclusion of this history alongside the novels highlights Smollett's range as a writer of both fiction and nonfiction, though the index treats each work as a separate entry.

This index serves as a practical guide to Smollett's major works, offering a bird's-eye view of their structure. Readers can use it to compare the epistolary density of Humphry Clinker with the chapter-driven adventures of Peregrine Pickle or Roderick Random. The inclusion of a history volume reminds us that Smollett was also a chronicler of his times. For those exploring his fiction, the index provides a starting point to trace recurring motifs like fortune, travel, and social satire across different works.

Years at the desk have taught me that indexers are quiet kin. Smollett’s rollicking rogues, catalogued so patiently by Mr. Widger, share a shelf’s soul with another sort of wanderer—Kipling’s restless, lamp-lit worlds, also gathered into neat, navigable order. One finds mischief, the other marvel, yet both offer the same comfort: a map for solitary, wondering hands. Index for Works of Rudyard Kipling Hyperlinks to all Chapters of all Individual Ebooks — Key Ideas to Explore