Tobias smollett don quixote5/27/2023 ![]() ![]() If that was indeed the case, their gamble paid off handsomely. It seems probable that Smollett was approached by the conger of seven booksellers whose names appear in all the volumes of the first edition. The lustre of the Smollett name on the title page beneath that of Voltaire would maximise the prestige and credibility of the initiative and reduce the risks. Crucially, as founding editor of the Critical Review, he was also an influential literary ‘gate-keeper’ in the London book business. He was a successful novelist and historian, as well as the translator of Gil Blas and Don Quixote. ![]() However, the ‘learned Doctor Smollett’, as he was wryly dubbed, was an obvious choice as editor. Unlike Voltaire, he did not oblige posterity by leaving a voluminous correspondence. The circumstances of Smollett’s involvement in the project are unclear. Tobias Smollett (unknown artist, c.1770, National Portrait Gallery). ![]()
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