The History of Sandford and Merton
Title page of the second edition
Author: Thomas Day
Published: 1783-1789
Publisher: J. Stockdale
Summary: a collection of loosely connected stories which follows the growth of Tommy Merton (a pampered aristocrat) from a spoiled boy into a virtuous man, thanks largely to the influence of the honest Henry Sandford (a poor farmer's son). Although other stories and lessons are contained in the book, it has always been famous for the Sandford and Merton cycle.
Importance: originally intended to be included in Maria Edgeworth's The Parent's Assistant (1798), Sandford and Merton was too long and so became its own book. The story also supports the educational views of Rousseau's Emile (1762), favoring simple, rational experience over abstractions and decadence.
Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=YKsNAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+history+of+sandford+and+merton%22&hl=en&ei=304HTaLaCYPvnQefuczlDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
or
http://books.google.com/books?id=O7wBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+history+of+sandford+and+merton%22&hl=en&ei=HE8HTdnkLdnhnQem65WTDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Published: 1783-1789
Publisher: J. Stockdale
Summary: a collection of loosely connected stories which follows the growth of Tommy Merton (a pampered aristocrat) from a spoiled boy into a virtuous man, thanks largely to the influence of the honest Henry Sandford (a poor farmer's son). Although other stories and lessons are contained in the book, it has always been famous for the Sandford and Merton cycle.
Importance: originally intended to be included in Maria Edgeworth's The Parent's Assistant (1798), Sandford and Merton was too long and so became its own book. The story also supports the educational views of Rousseau's Emile (1762), favoring simple, rational experience over abstractions and decadence.
Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=YKsNAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+history+of+sandford+and+merton%22&hl=en&ei=304HTaLaCYPvnQefuczlDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
or
http://books.google.com/books?id=O7wBAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22the+history+of+sandford+and+merton%22&hl=en&ei=HE8HTdnkLdnhnQem65WTDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false