The story in one page
Matthew Bramble, a man of delicate health and short temper, leads a family caravan away from his Welsh estate to find relief in the waters of Bath and the air of Scotland. The party includes his man-hungry sister Tabitha, her vicious dog Chowder, and their niece and nephew. Their travel experience changes when they hire Humphry Clinker, a destitute but pious young man whose lack of a shirt initially scandalizes the ladies. Through a series of letters, each traveler reports the same dinners, highway robberies, and social snubs from their own wildly different perspectives, ranging from Bramble’s cynical medical observations to servant Winifred’s phonetic misspellings.
Who's who
- Matthew Bramble
A gouty, misanthropic squire who writes long medical complaints.
- Humphry Clinker
A ragged, devout country fellow hired as a replacement postilion.
- Tabitha Bramble
Matthew's sister, a sharp-tongued spinster obsessed with her dog.
- Winifred Jenkins
A lady's maid who writes letters filled with creative malapropisms.
- Lismanhago
A scarred, eccentric Scottish captain who courts Mrs. Tabitha.
What it's really about
- Subjectivity
- Truth depends entirely on who is holding the pen.
- National Identity
- The distinct, often clashing cultures of England, Scotland, and Wales.
Why it's memorable
- Humphry Clinker inadvertently flashing the ladies due to his tattered trousers.
- Tabitha Bramble screaming for her dog Chowder while her brother lies injured.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
The expedition ends at a friend's estate where Humphry is revealed to be Matthew Bramble’s illegitimate son; the trip concludes with the triple wedding of Humphry, Tabitha, and Liddy before the family heads home to Wales.
For your book club
- The contrast between Bramble's intellectual skepticism and Clinker's earnest, unpolished religious fervor.
- How Smollett uses phonetic spelling to reveal the social class and education of the letter writers.