What was the only book for which Jonathan Swift, who wrote scores of books, was paid?

Gulliver’s Travels. Its title was originally The Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Laemuel Gulliver. The book was so well presented with an illustrated portrait of Gulliver and maps, that many credulous people believed it to be a true story. Indeed, a bishop in Ireland angrily asserted that in his opinion it was full of improbable untruths to such an extent that he scarcely believed a word of it.

The book is popularly regarded today as a children’s classic but in fact it was published as an adult book, packed with bitter satire, ridiculing the society of the day. Jonathan Swift, who was born in Dublin, November 30, 1667, was ordained a priest in 1695 but soon tired of a country parson’s life.

He commenced to write poetry but his verse was harshly criticised and he turned his attention to the shortcomings of the day’s politics. With wit and savagery he attacked the accepted customs of the land and made the church the particular target for his wicked humor. Always outrageous in his attacks, he at long last in 1741, became completely insane and died October 19, 1745. He was buried in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.