A Tale of a Tub

First published: 1704
Reading level: Fairly demanding
Price: Free

About the book

"A Tale of a Tub" by Jonathan Swift is a prose satire written between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. Through an allegory of three brothers representing branches of Christianity and a series of wild digressions, Swift parodies religious excess and contemporary intellectual trends. The work attacks Catholic, Anglican, and Dissenting churches while mocking modern writing styles in politics, theology, and medicine. Enormously popular yet widely misunderstood, it was condemned as profane and effectively barred Swift from advancement in the Church of England.