Written in the eighteenth century, this is a very challenging read; but to my mind well worth the effort. Some of the sharpest wit in print and on occasion bawdy to a degree that might still raise an eyebrow today, this book took a decade to write, and nearly as long for me to read. An homage to diversion, the book gets lost in the details, not getting to the actual birth of the principal character until several hundred pages into the book. By that point we know the life stories, or large parts there of of every member of the supporting cast.
