The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background -- all to help you gain greater insight into great works you're bound to study for school or pleasure.

In CliffsNotes on Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield, you follow the lost and gained fortunes of the Rev. Charles Primrose and his family, a story set in eighteenth-century England.

Moving with the main characters' journeys through deceptions, dips and rises in social positions, and discovery of true wealth, this study guide carries you along a path of discovery about the life and background of the author, the novel's characters, and the following:

• Brief summary of the novel
  
  
• Chapter-by-chapter summaries and commentaries
  
  
• Critical analysis of genre, style, characterization, and themes
  
  
• Critical opinions
  
  
• Study questions and essay topics to help polish your knowledge
  
  
• Selected bibliography for further reading
  
  

Classic literature or modern-day treasure -- you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.