A terrific adaptation of a classic, with brilliant illustrations.
Gulliver’s Travels was first published in 1726 and is the best known of Jonathon Swift’s works. Swift was born in Dublin and was a clergyman as well as a writer and poet. He was writing at a time of great overseas exploration when little was known of the world beyond Europe and the Americas, thus Gulliver, a ship’s surgeon, was the ideal character to tell tall tales of distant lands.
Shipwrecked on a distant shore, Gulliver awakes to find himself tied down with hundreds of bonds, being walked on and stared at by hundreds of tiny Lilliputians. This change in perspective, used in describing the countries and peoples encountered on these travels, provides the author with opportunities to satirise Britain’s own politics, culture and customs.
From the early 1700s, Britain was involved in several wars ostensibly to support various allies, but really to protect their own trade and commerce. Swift satirises British interference when he writes of Gulliver aiding the kingdom of Lilliput in the long running war with the neighbouring country of Blefuscu. By having Gulliver capture almost the entire fleet of Blefuscu, Swift focuses his satire on the British Navy—a major player in political and strategic decisions. The crucial difference between the two kingdoms, is whether to open a boiled egg from the big or the small end.
Escaping the conflict, Gulliver manages to return to his own country but his adventures are far from over. He is shipwrecked again, but this time he is the tiny person in Brobdingnag, a land of giants. I really enjoyed all the descriptions of the various ways the giants found of dealing with Gulliver’s tiny size—building him special furniture and a travelling box—and his special relationship with the farmer’s daughter Glumdalclitch who comes to the palace to care for him.
When Gulliver tells the king about his own country—its people, laws, judiciary and politics—Swift draws on his own knowledge and experience of British politics. The king queries the wisdom of many aspects of that society, particularly the disruptive battles for patronage and influence. In this way the author points out more clearly, through this fictional narrative, the problems in his own country.
This version is adapted, in terms of language, and abridged for today’s readers, containing only the first two parts of the original story. It is brought to life by Robert Ingpen’s illustrations, which are superb. The different scales he uses for the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians are very convincing; Gulliver really seems to be a giant and then is as small as an ant. The illustrations have a soft, somewhat hazy quality and enhance the fantastic tales brilliantly. This hard-backed book is a high quality production and a fine introduction to a classic piece of English literature.
Reviewed by Jan Kershaw
Distributed by: Allen & Unwin
Released: September 2021
RRP: $35.00
This review is the opinion of the reviewer and not Glam Adelaide.
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