Tobias Smollett (1721–1771)
Tobias Smollett’s writing and medical careers are truly representative of the eighteenth-century: unpredictable, imbalanced, yet infinitely enlightening. He was born in Dalquhurn, near Renton, in Dunbartonshire. After studying at the University of Glasgow, and learning the medical trade under two of the city’s most esteemed practitioners William Stirling (c.1690-1757) and John Gordon (b1700-1770), Smollett travelled to London. His debut novel, The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748) went on to be hugely successful. Of his other novels, The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771) is most often praised. His career as a writer was varied and vast, and among his non-fiction works were A Complete History of England (1757-1758) and Travels through France and Italy (1766). It is unfortunate that Smollett’s ties with Glasgow are seldom at the forefront of modern criticism, in spite of his formative years spent in the city.
Smollett never made a resounding impact in medicine, but his circle of medical friends was formidable. It included William Smellie (1697-1763), William (1718-1783) and John Hunter (1728-1793), and John Moore (1729-1802). These eminent Scots in London were all born in satellite towns of Glasgow, and represent part of the medical Enlightenment that includes William Cullen (1710-1790) and Joseph Black (1728-1799).
While he spent most of his career in England, Smollett’s poem ‘The Tears of Scotland’ was a clear statement of national pride, a reaction to the Jacobite defeat in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Toward the end of his life, Smollett wrote ‘Ode to Leven-Water’ in praise of the beautiful scenery near his birthplace. In Humphry Clinker, Glasgow is described as ‘the pride of Scotland.’
Deteriorating health affected him greatly, and he died in Italy. There are monuments to Smollett at his birthplace, and in Leghorn, Italy. For all his various spats with British authors and politicians, his work has been said to inspire Sir Walter Scott, John Galt, and Charles Dickens.