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Jonathan Swift
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A Modest Proposal (Xist Classics) Kindle Edition

by Jonathan Swift (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 1,074 ratings
How do you solve the problem of poverty? By letting the Irish sell their children to be eaten by wealthy ladies and gentlemen, of course!

This satirical short work by Jonathan Swift is a classic look at the cost of poverty.
This digital edition from Xist Classics features a beautifully formatted and professionally proofed version of the original text.

Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes



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    • Customer reviews:
      4.2 out of 5 stars 1,074 ratings

    About the author

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    Jonathan Swift

    Jonathan Swift

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    Born in 1667, Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer and cleric, best known for his works Gulliver s Travels, A Modest Proposal, and A Journal to Stella, amongst many others. Educated at Trinity College in Dublin, Swift received his Doctor of Divinity in February 1702, and eventually became Dean of St. Patrick s Cathedral in Dublin. Publishing under the names of Lemeul Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, and M. B. Drapier, Swift was a prolific writer who, in addition to his prose works, composed poetry, essays, and political pamphlets for both the Whigs and the Tories, and is considered to be one of the foremost English-language satirists, mastering both the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. Swift died in 1745, leaving the bulk of his fortune to found St. Patrick s Hospital for Imbeciles, a hospital for the mentally ill, which continues to operate as a psychiatric hospital today.

    Jonathan Swift(1667 1745), a poet, satirist, and clergyman, published many satirical works, among them A Modest Proposal. Robert DeMaria, Jr. is Henry Noble McCracken Professor of English at Vassar College. He has published widely on seventeenth- and eighteenth-century literature.

    Customer reviews

    4.2 out of 5 stars
    1,074 global ratings

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    Customers say

    Customers find the book to be a brilliant read, with one mentioning it can be completed in one sitting. The satire receives positive feedback, with one customer noting its significance as the first lengthy piece of literary irony. They appreciate the language, with one review highlighting its elegant style, and one noting its somewhat archaic mode of writing. Customers consider the book good value for money, with one mentioning its free availability.

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    ReadabilitySatireLanguageValue for money
    9 customers mention ‘Readability’9 positive0 negative

    Customers find the book readable and brilliant, with one mentioning it can be finished in one sitting.

    "...has stood up so well to the test of time...." Read more

    "Downloaded. Quick, easy, yet to read." Read more

    "...Brilliant, cruel and funny." Read more

    "...This is a short read, fairly easy to stick with given the somewhat archaic mode of writing, and it's free...." Read more

    9 customers mention ‘Satire’9 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the satire in the book, with one noting it as the first lengthy piece of literary irony.

    "...conclusion without considering its morality. It's satire at its absolutely brilliant best; it'll only take you minutes to read..." Read more

    "...Brilliant, cruel and funny." Read more

    "Significant as the first lengthy piece of literary irony. Have passed to a number of friends to read...." Read more

    "...That sounded rather pompous - it's also very funny." Read more

    3 customers mention ‘Language’3 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the language of the book, with one noting its somewhat archaic style and another highlighting its elegance.

    "...that I remember my English teachers raving about, for the elegance of its language and its perfect example of how to convey even the most outrageous..." Read more

    "...This is a short read, fairly easy to stick with given the somewhat archaic mode of writing, and it's free...." Read more

    "A literary challenge...." Read more

    3 customers mention ‘Value for money’3 positive0 negative

    Customers appreciate the book's value for money, with one mentioning its good price and another noting it's free.

    "...and it's free on Kindle. What's to lose?" Read more

    "...easy to stick with given the somewhat archaic mode of writing, and it's free...." Read more

    "...Delivered as promised and at a good price. Can't fault it." Read more

    Top reviews from United Kingdom

    • Debbie
      5.0 out of 5 stars An Evergreen Example of Powerful Ironic Rhetoric Still Relevant Today
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 July 2016
      Verified Purchase
      I'm currently rereading and revisiting some of the texts I studied at school and university to see how different my attitude is to them now I am at the age of the teachers rather than the pupils. Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal is one of the texts that I remember my English teachers raving about, for the elegance of its language and its perfect example of how to convey even the most outrageous arguments persuasively.

      I think I really "got" this one even as a teenager, and it came as no real surprise to discover that this essay by such a master of the English language (albeit Irish - Swift was Dean of Trinity College, Dublin) has stood up so well to the test of time. It continues to be the perfect model of the essayists, For the benefit of anyone reading this review who has not yet read it, I am reluctant to explain exactly what the proposal consists of, but I urge you to read of yourself to discover exactly what it is. Prepare to be surprised. And also astonished at how persuasive his argument is of something that should be entirely abhorrent.

      Of course, he was being entirely ironic, but this approach is a much more skilful way of drawing attention to his cause - the social deprivations and inequalities in the Ireland of his day - than if he had written a simple plea or description of those conditions.

      The power of his argument continues to resonate to this day and sadly is still relevant to the twenty-first century world. His easy rhetoric is a masterful and timely reminder of how easily we may be swept along by skilled politicians or even leaders of cults. I think this essay should be compulsory reading on both sides of the Atlantic, and I am grateful to my (American) English teacher in high school for introducing me to it.

      Whether or not you are interested in politics, if you love to read superbly composed and compelling essay, read this one, and be amazed by how readily its message would slot into a 21st century political comedy sketch show, or, god forbid, into the mouths of some of our current political leaders without the saving grace of irony.
      2 people found this helpful
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    • Jan Toms
      4.0 out of 5 stars easy, yet to read
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2016
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      Downloaded. Quick, easy, yet to read.
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    • susannah
      5.0 out of 5 stars I defy you not to smile... while wincing
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2013
      Verified Purchase
      Did you ever consider politics is funny? Or economics? Or just dull? tedious? pretentious?
      Well, if you need to be persuaded, then just read this >> What happens when you take an idea to its logical(??) conclusion without considering its morality.
      It's satire at its absolutely brilliant best; it'll only take you minutes to read (tho' you might want to linger a while on some of the wonderful phrases) and it's free on Kindle. What's to lose?
      3 people found this helpful
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    • Davidson
      3.0 out of 5 stars Good quick read
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2013
      Verified Purchase
      An interesting short story or should I say evaluation on whether or not very young children should be killed for meat in a starving Ireland. It stays with you much after it has been read. The narrator gives many convincing points as to why it would be good to kill little children for meat in a starving Ireland but I just couldn't agree with the morality of it. Read it, it will challenge your thinking on human cannibalism
      One person found this helpful
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    • 1001obsessive
      5.0 out of 5 stars Fancy a snack?
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2019
      Verified Purchase
      What is not to enjoy about this pungent pamphlet? In a mere 26 pages, Swift makes a simply stunning indictment against the callousness of the landed gentry and gives the reader a most interesting idea for a simple dietary solution to the woes of the poor! Brilliant, cruel and funny.
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    • Cannon
      4.0 out of 5 stars Quick read
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2025
      Quick read, gruesome topic
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    • Boing
      5.0 out of 5 stars An Educated Giggle
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2012
      Verified Purchase
      Firstly, the one star review by "smat" dated 11/10/11 can be safely ignored. He or she is clearly talking about a different book ("free" is hardly the same as "expensive", and there are no sections in the short text for which a contents page or index would be needed).

      "A Modest Proposal" was my first journey into Swift's particular brand of political satire, and I found his arguments for the consumption of children as compelling as they were entertaining. Given the current economic downturn one wonders why no party on the lunatic fringe has yet co-opted the work as their manifesto.

      This is a short read, fairly easy to stick with given the somewhat archaic mode of writing, and it's free. Kindle is the perfect platform for encouraging people such as myself to expand their literary horizons and this text has introduced me painlessly to an author I had not previously considered reading.

      Recommended!
      5 people found this helpful
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    • Jaymak.
      5.0 out of 5 stars A literary challenge.
      Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 February 2016
      Verified Purchase
      A lot of people will write books thinking that they are being satirical, when in fact, all they are being is sarcastic. Jonathan Swift has to be the absolute master when it comes to the subject of satire. A Modest Proposal is not an 'easy read', nor should it be when you consider the topics it relates to. Approach this book with an open mind, try and avoid as much as possible, any academic views of it, (if you were studying this at university level, your tutor would be having you 'write a paper' on it that would be longer than the book itself), and prepare to have your opinions changed on many things. Given that it was written in the 1700's, it is going to be 'wordy'. Stick with it. It is an amazing piece of 'work'.
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    Top reviews from other countries

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    • Ishaque Hasan Mumshad Shaik Mohammed
      5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
      Reviewed in India on 1 November 2016
      Verified Purchase
      Swift bhai, I grew up reading you. My children are enjoying your writings now
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    • Renato Santos Trettel
      4.0 out of 5 stars E o subtítulo?
      Reviewed in Brazil on 19 February 2015
      Verified Purchase
      Faltou o subtítulo, e há alguns problemas com a grafia (publick, por exemplo).
      Mas o texto de Swift é uma excelente reflexão crítica para os dias de hoje.
      Report
    • hwoodruff
      5.0 out of 5 stars An Easy to Download and Read Classic
      Reviewed in Australia on 11 April 2021
      Verified Purchase
      A classic that was easy to download and an easy read that I can tick off my list of 1001 books to read before I die list.

      Actually quite thought provoking given the time it was written and now. Not sure if it would be considered politically correct or on the school book list unless the content was used at a university or tertiary level for a thought provoking discussion about race, gender equality, social hierarchy and their historical significance in the given context.
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    • Matt
      5.0 out of 5 stars A clever piece from the past
      Reviewed in Japan on 27 March 2014
      Verified Purchase
      Swift is known for his wit. His satirical writings are difficult to get without a firm historical background in the politics is his era. This essay, however, is comprehendible and will relate to most modern readers. Defiantly worth the five to ten minutes it takes to read.
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    • Sol
      2.0 out of 5 stars Truculento
      Reviewed in Spain on 28 June 2015
      Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
      No pude con él, la historia es demasiado truculenta para mi gusto. No es que el libro sea malo, simplemente es un relato demasiado gore.
      Report

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