The vicar of Wakefield, By Oliver Goldsmith and illustrator William Mulready(1 April 1786 - 7 July 1863) was an Irish genre painter living in London. Victorians novels. The Vicar of Wakefield - subtitled A Tale, Supposed to be written by Himself - is a novel by Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774). It was written from 1761 to 1762 and published in 1766. It was one of the most popular and widely read 18th-century novels among Victorians. Plot summary--The Vicar - Dr Charles Primrose - lives an idyllic life in a country parish with his wife Deborah, son George, daughters Olivia and Sophia,...