21 h 28 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What use are courage and good birth when the world rewards money, rank and a convincing lie?
Roderick Random leaves the Scottish countryside with little money, a fierce temper and a dangerous trust in smooth talkers. Cast out by his family, he seeks a living in London with Hugh Strap, his loyal friend. But the city sees easy prey in their country manners, and a press gang brings Roderick aboard a crowded warship.
In Tobias Smollett’s rough comic novel, every new place brings another scrape, another joke and another test of character. Roderick meets cheats, bullies, ruined poets and honest sailors as he struggles for a place in the world. Beneath the bustle lies a sharp question: how far can ability carry someone who has no powerful protector?
What you’ll discover
- A rogue worth following Roderick’s pride, quick fists and misplaced trust keep him stumbling into fresh trouble.
- Friendship amid the swindles Hugh Strap’s patient loyalty offers warmth in a world eager to take advantage.
- Life below decks Crowded quarters, cruel officers and kind sailors give the sea adventure its rough edge.
- Laughter with sharp teeth Coarse humour and lively encounters expose the vanity and cruelty of those with power.
- A world of contrasts Travel from filthy ship decks to fine drawing rooms, where worth and luck rarely meet.
Who will love it
For readers who love rough comic adventure, sea stories and sharp social satire, and anyone curious about life in eighteenth century Britain.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy cast out by his own family
- School, quarrels and a loyal barber's boy
- London swindles a country lad
- Pressed into service on a warship
- War, disease and the siege of Cartagena
- Patrons, promises and the pursuit of Narcissa
- France, debt and a prison of poor poets
- What the book says about luck, merit and cruelty
- A picaresque told in a rough, lively voice
Who’s who
- Roderick RandomA proud, quick tempered young Scot, cast out by his family, who seeks a living and a place in the world through many hardships.
- Hugh StrapA poor barber's assistant and Roderick's loyal friend, plain, patient and ready to follow him anywhere.
- Tom BowlingRoderick's uncle, a blunt and kind hearted naval lieutenant who tries to protect his nephew when he can.
- Miss WilliamsA clever woman hardened by a life of betrayal in London, who becomes a source of advice and sad stories.
- NarcissaA gentle and well born young lady whom Roderick loves, though her rank and family stand between them.
- Jack RattlinA sturdy, loyal sailor aboard the Thunder who shows Roderick that kindness survives below decks.
- MorganA Welsh naval surgeon's mate with odd speech and a good heart, a friend to Roderick in the navy.
- Captain WhiffleA vain and affected naval officer who cares more for his own comfort and show than for his ship.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 21 h 28 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Adventures of Roderick Random
by Tobias Smollett · 1748
A young Scotsman seeks his fortune through London swindles and life aboard a warship, with loyal friends amid deceit.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A boy cast out by his own family
The story begins in Scotland, where Roderick tells his own tale. His father has married a woman his own father thought beneath the family. The grandfather, a judge, cuts his son off and refuses to forgive him. The young husband and his wife have a son, Roderick.
Roderick's mother dies, and his father vanishes, so nobody can say where he has gone. The child is left to the care of the grandfather who has already shown how little mercy he has. The old judge does not exactly beat the boy. He simply does not love him, and the household takes its tone from the master. Servants and relatives feel free to treat the orphan as a nuisance.
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What is The Adventures of Roderick Random about?
It tells the life of a poor Scottish youth who leaves home to seek his fortune. He suffers swindles in London, serves on a warship, and meets many odd and cruel people while trying to find a secure place.
Is The Adventures of Roderick Random a true story?
No, it is a novel published in 1748. But Smollett drew on his own time as a naval surgeon's mate, including the real expedition against Cartagena in 1741, so many scenes rest on real experience.
What is a picaresque novel?
A picaresque novel follows a lively outsider through a loose chain of adventures among different social classes. The form began in Spain and often mixes comedy with sharp comment on greed, cruelty and false respectability.
The author
Tobias Smollett
Scottish novelist
T. Smollett — Tobias Smollett — was a Scottish novelist whose service as a naval surgeon fed directly into his fiction. The Adventures of Roderick Random, his first novel, follows a rough-and-tumble young Scot through shipwrecks, swindles, and the brutal world of the Royal Navy.
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