Gulliver's Travels is a novel by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the travellers' tales literary sub-genre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. The book became popular as soon as it was published. Cavehill in Belfast is thought to be the inspiration for the novel. Swift imagined that the mountain resembled the shape of a sleeping giant safeguarding the city.