Smollett, T. (Tobias)

Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) was a Scottish novelist, poet, and historian renowned for his picaresque novels that satirized 18th-century British society. A former naval surgeon whose experiences at sea profoundly shaped his writing, he produced works that combined sharp social commentary with episodic adventure narratives, establishing him as a major figure in the development of the English novel.