•English writer, journalist, and spy; he is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, and for helping popularize the form
•Along with Samuel Richardson and Eliza Haywood, he is considered one of the founders of the English novel
•wrote more than 500 books, pamphlets and journals on various topics (politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural)
Main Works:
•Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
•Robinson Crusoe (1719; based on a real event: Alexander Selkirk’s 4-year stay on the island of Juan Fernandez); it is one of the most widely published books in history, spawning numerous sequels and adaptations (“robinsonades”)
•Roxanna (1724)
JOHATHAN SWIFT (1667-1745)
• an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric who became Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin
•The foremost prose satirist in the English language; his style is wildly playful and funny while being pointed and very critical of its targets
Main Works:
•The Battle of the Books (1704)
•A Journal to Stella (1710-1713)
•Gulliver’s Travels (1726): his masterpiece. It is a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travelers' tales" literary subgenre. The first two books deal with Cpt. Lemuel Gulliver’s encounters with Lilliputians (a race of tiny but war-loving people) and Brobdingnagians (a race of peaceful giants who hold high moral principles)
•A Modest Proposal (1729)
•Poems: “A Beautiful Nymph Going to Bed,” “A Lady’s Dressing Room,” “Stella’s Birthday Poems,” “A Description of the Morning,” “A Description of a City Shower”
SAMUEL RICHARDSON (1689-1761)
•writer and printer. He is widely acknowledged as the author of the first epistolary novel in the English language (= a novel written in the form of letters)
Main Works:
•Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740): tells the story of an innocent girl, Pamela Andrews, who is kidnapped by her master, Mr. B. She eventually wins his heart due to her virtuous nature and they end up getting married. Pamela’s letters allow the reader to witness her development and progress over time. The novel was immensely successful; it allowed Richardson to create a complex and highly likeable heroine.
•Clarissa, or The History of a Young Lady (1748)
•The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753)
HENRY FIELDING (1707-1754)
•An English novelist and dramatist known for his humor and satirical prowess. He considered himself as a continuator of the Scriblerian tradition of acid satire, and signed some of his works as Scriblerus Secundus
•Started as a playwright; his work was savagely critical of the contemporary government of Sir Robert Walpole; as a result, the authorities issued the Licensing Act of 1737, which dictated that the Lord Chamberlain must approve any play before it was performed
Main Works:
PLAYS:
•The Author’s Farce
•The Tragedy of Tragedies, or the Life and Death of Tom Thumb the Great
•Grub-Street Opera
NOVELS:
•Joseph Andrews
•Shamela
•The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling (1749): his masterpiece; it is a Bildungsroman (= a novel that describes the hero’s formation) and picaresque novel (= it tells the adventures of a low-class roughish hero). It is considered one of the 10 best novels in the world.
SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784)
• often referred to as Dr Johnson; an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer
•has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". He is also the subject of the most famous biography in the whole world literature: James Boswell’s Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
•Boswell's Life, along with other biographies, documented Johnson's odd behavior and tics in great detail. Based on these accounts, it is currently believed that he suffered from Tourette syndrome, a condition not diagnosed in the 18th century.
Main Works:
•Life of Richard Savage (1744)
•A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), his Magnus opus. It took him 9 years to finish it and it had a far-reaching effect on modern English language. It has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship“ and brought Johnson everlasting popularity and success.
•The History of Rasellas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)
•A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775)
•Lives of the Poets (1779-1781)
LAURENCE STERNE (1713-1768)
•an Anglo-Irish novelist and clergyman; because of his struggle with tuberculosis he had to give up his clerical position and retired in the countryside
•He discovers his talent for writing at the age of 46 and starts writing in order to supplement his income as a farmer
Main Works:
•The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman; was published in installments between 1759 and 1768, the year of his death. The novel details Tristram's opinions, eccentric family and ill-fated childhood with a sympathetic humor, sometimes hilarious, sometimes sweetly melancholic. It is a highly experimental novel that brought him instant success in England and on the Continent. He uses “progressive digressions” so that we only reach Tristram’s birth in the 3rd volume, and many typographic oddities (rows of stars, marbled pages, drawings, dashes, blank pages, index fingers, etc.) that puzzle the readers. It anticipated the metanovel (= a work that shows the process of its creation).
•A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy (1768)
THE TURN OF THE CENTURY: GOTHIC NOVELS
HORACE WALPOLE (1717-1797)
•English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and politician, son of Prime Minister Robert Walpole
•Known for his estate, Strawberry Hills, in Twickenham, where he revived the Gothic style
Main Work: The Castle of Otranto (1764), the first Gothic novel ever. It is the story of Manfred, the lord of the castle, and his family, who are under a terrible curse. Walpole creates fantastic situations (helmets falling from the sky, walking portraits, etc.) and places “real” people into these situations, allowing them to act in a "real" manner.
WILLIAM BECKFORD (1760-1844)
•English novelist and art collector, extremely rich