A Tale of a Tub
A Tale of a Tub was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, arguably his most difficult satire and perhaps his most masterly. The "Tale" is a prose parody divided into sections each delving into the morals and ethics of the English. Composed between 1694 and 1697, it was eventually published in 1704. It was long regarded as a satire on religion, and has famously been attacked for that, starting with William Wotton.
A Tale of a Tub
Although today very little of this debate remains, questions of the authorship of the "Tale" occupied many notable critics both in the 18th and 19th centuries. Famously, Samuel Johnson claimed that "A Tale of a Tub" was a work of true genius (in contrast to "Gulliver's Travels" where once one imagines "big people and little people" the rest is easy) and too good to be Jonathan Swift's. In the 19th century, many critics who saw misanthropy and madness in Jonathan Swift's later work wished to reject the "Tale" as his. In a way, a critic's view on who wrote the "Tale" reflected that critic's politics. Swift was such a powerful champion of Tory, or anti-Whig, causes that fans of the "Tale" were eager to attribute the book to another author from nearly the day of its publication.