I only read the first two chapters. What I decided based on those two chapters is that this is probably a high quality academic biography but not one for a lay reader who wants a strong, narrative based account of Swift’s life. This author is heavily engaged with the literature on Swift’s life and where it has gone wrong. If I were an academic I’d be interested in these lengthy detours. But I just wanted a good faith account of Swift’s life with perhaps some brief asides to note which important facts are disputed or missing from the historical record.
Review from Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World →