Marching on…let’s brighten the dreary month of March celebrating Tobias Smollett’s birthday with a Smollett Family Reunion.
Born around 16 March 1721, Smollett wrote picaresque (not picturesque) novels like The Adventures of Roderick Random and other writings, and translated Don Quixote. He wrote and wrote until he left us in 1771. Funny how much some people accomplish in a not-so-long life. He influenced many, including some say, Robert Louis Stevenson, and indeed, Tom Bowling from Random reminded me of Long John Silver in Treasure Island.
And coincidentally, there is a character named Jack Smollett in Dracula, published 1897, the same year as the biography Tobias Smollett by William Henry Oliphant Smeaton. Imagine writing that ten times on the board!
Smollett left us with much, including a clever quote, “…some folks are wise, and some otherwise.”
Well said.
‘Til next, keep reading and celebrating birthdays!
Wander in a Box 