SOURCE: Introduction to The Life and Opinions of John Buncle, Esq.,. George Routledge and Sons, 1904, pp. V-Xiii.

In the following essay, Baker explores the source of the appeal that The Life of John Buncle, Esq., has for readers interested in literary curiosities: the book's vigor, frankness, and ability to unfold the title character's nature.

The History of John Buncle has never been a popular book. It is hardly possible to imagine a period whose standard of taste and culture would render it popular. Yet it is safe to predict that it will always, as in the past, be an object of interest to the connoisseur, the explorer of curious by-paths of literature, and to all who have a liking for the eccentricities of human nature, when conjoined with strength and shrewdness, and with candour of expression. Thrice during the last century was the book disinterred from the obscurity...