by Tobias Smollett

Structure and Setting

Published in 1771, “The Expedition of Humphry Clinker” is Smollett’s final and most acclaimed novel, written in the form of letters exchanged between members of the Bramble family during their journey through Britain. Set in the 1760s, the novel follows the Welsh squire Matthew Bramble and his household as they travel from their home in Wales through England and Scotland, ostensibly for health reasons but ultimately becoming a comprehensive tour of 18th-century British society.

The epistolary format allows Smollett to present multiple perspectives on the same events, creating both humor and social commentary through the contrasting viewpoints of different characters writing to their correspondents back home.

The Bramble Family and Household

Matthew Bramble is the central figure - a Welsh country squire in his fifties who suffers from various ailments (both real and imagined) and has a generally misanthropic view of humanity. Despite his grumpy exterior and constant complaints about modern society, he possesses a fundamentally good heart and often acts generously toward those in need. His letters reveal an intelligent, if pessimistic, observer of social conditions.

Tabitha Bramble is Matthew’s unmarried sister, a sharp-tongued spinster in her forties who is desperately seeking a husband. She’s vain, pretentious, and often ridiculous in her social climbing attempts. Her malapropism-filled letters to her friend provide much of the novel’s comic relief, as she consistently misuses words while trying to appear sophisticated.

Lydia Melford is Matthew’s young niece, a romantic 20-year-old who sees the world through rose-colored glasses. Her letters to her school friend are filled with enthusiasm for everything she encounters, providing a counterpoint to her uncle’s cynicism. She falls in love with a young actor named Wilson early in their journey.

Jeremy Melford is Matthew’s nephew and Lydia’s brother, a recent Oxford graduate who is practical, good-natured, and serves as something of a narrator for the family’s adventures. His letters to his college friend provide balanced observations of their travels and the people they meet.

Winifred Jenkins is Tabitha’s Welsh maid, whose letters to her fellow servant back home are written in dialect and filled with comic misunderstandings of the grand world she’s encountering. Her malapropisms are even more extreme than her mistress’s, creating additional layers of humor.

The Journey Begins

The expedition begins when Matthew Bramble, suffering from various health complaints, decides to take the waters at the fashionable spa town of Bath. What starts as a health cure becomes an extended journey that will take the family through many of the major cities and regions of 18th-century Britain.

At Bath, the family encounters the full range of English society - from genuine nobility to social climbers, from invalids seeking cures to young people seeking entertainment. Matthew is disgusted by the overcrowding, the mixing of social classes, and what he sees as the general degradation of society, while Lydia is enchanted by the glamour and excitement.

Enter Humphry Clinker

The title character doesn’t appear until the family has already begun their travels. Humphry Clinker is introduced as a ragged, half-starved ostler (stable worker) whom the family encounters when their coach needs repair. Despite his unprepossessing appearance, Matthew Bramble takes pity on him and hires him as a postilion (coach driver).

Clinker proves to be honest, hardworking, and deeply religious - almost to the point of evangelical fervor. His piety and moral lectures sometimes annoy the family, but his essential goodness and loyalty gradually win their affection. He becomes a Methodist convert and begins preaching, which creates both comic situations and social commentary about religious enthusiasm in 18th-century Britain.

Adventures and Misadventures

As the family travels through England, they encounter a series of adventures and misadventures. In London, they experience the chaos and vice of the capital city, with Matthew becoming increasingly appalled by urban conditions - the pollution, crime, overcrowding, and social disorder. The family attends various entertainments, meets different social types, and witnesses the contrasts between wealth and poverty.

Lydia’s romantic subplot continues as she maintains a secret correspondence with the actor Wilson, whom her uncle considers entirely unsuitable. This creates ongoing tension within the family and drives much of the novel’s romantic plot.

Tabitha continues her husband-hunting activities, becoming involved with various unsuitable suitors who are either fortune hunters or social climbers trying to improve their position through marriage to a property owner’s sister.

The Scottish Adventure

A significant portion of the novel takes place in Scotland, where the family travels north to Edinburgh and the Highlands. This section allows Smollett (himself a Scotsman) to present a detailed and generally favorable portrait of Scottish society, customs, and landscape.

In Scotland, they encounter Highland hospitality, witness clan customs, and meet various Scottish characters who challenge English prejudices about their northern neighbors. The Scottish episodes provide some of the novel’s most vivid social observation and help to broaden the family’s (and readers’) understanding of British diversity.

Matthew’s health actually begins to improve in Scotland, suggesting that his ailments may be partly psychological and that removal from the stresses of English society has been beneficial.

Revelations and Resolutions

As the novel progresses toward its conclusion, several major revelations reshape the family’s understanding of their circumstances and relationships. Most dramatically, it’s revealed that Humphry Clinker is actually Matthew Bramble’s illegitimate son, born from a youthful relationship with a Welsh woman. This discovery transforms Clinker from servant to family member and provides him with both social position and inheritance prospects.

The romantic subplot involving Lydia and Wilson also reaches resolution when Wilson’s true identity is revealed - he turns out to be a gentleman of good family who had temporarily fallen into reduced circumstances and taken to the stage. This revelation makes him acceptable as a suitor for Lydia, removing the obstacle to their marriage.

Even Tabitha’s husband-hunting eventually succeeds when she marries Lieutenant Lismahago, an eccentric Scottish soldier whom the family had met during their travels. Though an odd couple, they seem well-suited to each other’s peculiarities.

Social Commentary and Themes

Throughout the journey, Smollett uses his characters’ observations to comment on various aspects of 18th-century British society. The novel addresses issues of social mobility, the rise of commercial society, urban growth and its problems, the relationship between England and Scotland, religious enthusiasm, and the changing nature of traditional hierarchies.

Matthew Bramble’s perspective often reflects conservative concerns about social change - he’s alarmed by the mixing of social classes at public places like Bath, worried about the decline of traditional deference, and disturbed by the growth of cities with their associated problems of crime, pollution, and moral decay.

However, Smollett’s presentation is complex rather than simply reactionary. While Matthew voices traditional concerns, other characters offer different perspectives, and the novel as a whole suggests that change brings both losses and gains.

The Return Home

The expedition concludes with the family’s return to Wales, but they return transformed by their experiences. The journey has broadened their horizons, resolved their romantic complications, and ultimately brought them closer together as a family unit.

The novel ends with multiple weddings - Lydia marries Wilson (now revealed as George Dennison), Tabitha marries Lismahago, and even Winifred Jenkins finds a husband. These marriages represent the successful resolution of the various romantic plots and the restoration of social harmony.

Literary Significance

“The Expedition of Humphry Clinker” represents the culmination of Smollett’s career as a novelist and is considered his masterpiece. The epistolary format allows for sophisticated character development and multiple perspectives on events, while the journey structure provides a framework for comprehensive social observation.

The novel combines several 18th-century literary traditions - the picaresque journey, the epistolary novel, and the novel of social observation - while adding Smollett’s distinctive humor and eye for social detail. It provides one of the most comprehensive pictures of 18th-century British society available in fiction.

Smollett’s achievement lies in balancing social criticism with human comedy, creating characters who are both comic types and believable individuals, and presenting a journey that is both literally geographical and metaphorically one of personal and social discovery.