The Family Letters of Oliver Goldsmith A Paper Read Before the Bibliographical Society, October 15th, 1917

In this engaging talk, a seasoned bibliographer brings to life a cache of previously hidden letters written by the beloved 18th‑century writer Oliver Goldsmith. Drawn from the papers of Bishop Thomas Percy, the manuscript was first presented to the Bibliographical Society in 1917, and it offers scholars a rare window onto Goldsmith’s private correspondence. The speaker frames the material as a complement to the many existing biographies, focusing on the intimate tone of the letters rather than on new factual revelations.

The letters, addressed to family members and childhood friends in Goldsmith’s native Ireland, reveal a warm affection and a straightforward, often self‑deprecating humor that colored his public works. Listeners hear the poet’s everyday concerns—financial anxieties, social visits, the simple pleasure of a shared joke—set against the backdrop of the bustling London literary scene he later entered. By the end of the session, the audience gains a vivid sense of the man behind “The Vicar of Wakefield,” without any spoilers from later chapters of his life.