Adventures of Roderick Random

First published in 1748, this picaresque novel follows Roderick Random, a Scotsman of good birth and no money, from a harsh childhood through apprenticeship, naval service as a surgeon's mate, and a string of schemes in London and abroad. He endures bullying at sea, the Cartagena expedition, debt, disguise, and a search for a lost father and a living. Companions include his uncle Tom Bowling and the faithful Hugh Strap. Episodes are loosely strung: each town or ship yields a new cheat, a fight, or a brief rise. The book is a comic adventure of fortune-hunting, not a study of one profession.

Bound in white linen blocked with a green pattern, spine label. Grey slipcase.