Swift's parodies are among his most fascinating works, but perhaps require most explication for the modern reader.

Valerie Rumbold brings a new depth and detail to the editing of Swift's Bickerstaff papers, Polite Conversation, Directions to Servants and other works on language and conduct.

Highlights include a fresh investigation of the political and print contexts of the Bickerstaff papers, full commentaries on such smaller works as A Modest Defence of Punning and On Barbarous Denominations in Ireland, identification and explanation of many additional sayings in Polite Conversation, and a detailed contextualisation of Directions to Servants in contemporary domestic theory and practice.

A substantial thematic Introduction is supplemented by an individual headnote and full annotation to each work. The Textual Introduction explores the publishing strategies adopted by Swift and his booksellers, and a separate Textual Account of each work presents and discusses changes in the texts over time.