1709 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1709 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- February 2 - Alexander SelkirkAlexander SelkirkAlexander Selkirk was a Scottish sailor who spent four years as a castaway when he was marooned on an uninhabited island. It is probable that his travels provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe....
, the original Robinson CrusoeRobinson CrusoeRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
, is rescued and returns to civilisation. - April 12 - The TatlerTatlerTatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
is founded by Richard SteeleRichard SteeleSir Richard Steele was an Irish writer and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator....
. - The British Parliament passes the Statute of AnneStatute of AnneThe Statute of Anne was the first copyright law in the Kingdom of Great Britain , enacted in 1709 and entering into force on 10 April 1710...
, the first modern copyright act.
New books
- Various - The Female Tatler
- Abbé Olivier- Memoirs of the Life and Adventures of Signor Rozelli
- Mary AstellMary AstellMary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Her advocacy of equal educational opportunities for women has earned her the title "the first English feminist."-Life and career:...
- Bart'lemy Fair - Thomas BakerThomas Baker (antiquarian)Thomas Baker , English antiquarian, was the grandson of Colonel Baker of Crook, Durham, who won fame in the English Civil War by his defence of Newcastle upon Tyne against the Scots. Thomas was educated at the free school at Durham, and went on to St John's College, Cambridge, where he later...
-Reflections on Learning, showing the Insufficiency thereof in its several particulars, in order to evince the usefulness and necessity of Revelation, vol. 1 - George BerkeleyGeorge BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
- An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision - Richard BlackmoreRichard BlackmoreSir Richard Blackmore , English poet and physician, is remembered primarily as the object of satire and as an example of a dull poet. He was, however, a respected physician and religious writer....
- Instructions to Vander Beck - Samuel CobbSamuel CobbSamuel Cobb may refer to:* Samuel Cobb , English poet, school master, classicist, and translator of Chaucer* Samuel C. Cobb, American politician, Mayor of Boston* Samuel Sylvester Cobb, American businessman...
- The Female Reign - Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury - (philosophy)
- Daniel DefoeDaniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
- The History of the Union of Great Britain - Charles GildonCharles GildonCharles Gildon , was an English hack writer who was, by turns, a translator, biographer, essayist, playwright, poet, author of fictional letters, fabulist, short story author, and critic. He provided the source for many lives of Restoration figures, although he appears to have propagated or...
- The Golden Spy (satire) - White KennettWhite KennettWhite Kennett was an English bishop and antiquarian.-Life:He was born at Dover. He was educated at Westminster School and at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where, while an undergraduate, he published several translations of Latin works, including Erasmus' In Praise of Folly.Kennett was vicar of...
- A Vindication of the Church and Clergy of England - William KingWilliam King (poet)-Life:Born in London, the son of Ezekiel King, he was related to the family of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. From Westminster School, where he was a scholar under Richard Busby, at the age of eighteen he was elected to Christ Church, Oxford in 1681. There he is said to have dedicated himself...
- Miscellanies in Prose and Verse - John Lawson - A New Voyage to Carolina
- Delarivière Manley - The New Atalantis
- William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
- The Works of Mr William Shakespear (edited by Nicholas Rowe, the first edition with scene divisions) - John StrypeJohn StrypeJohn Strype was an English historian and biographer. He was a cousin of Robert Knox, a famous sailor.Born in Houndsditch, London, he was the son of John Strype, or van Stryp, a member of a Huguenot family whom, in order to escape religious persecution within Brabant, had settled in East London...
- Annals of the Reformation and Establishment of Religion - Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
- A Famous Prediction of Merlin- A Project for the Advancement of Religion and the Reformation of Manners ("By a Person of Quality")
- A Vindication of Isaac Bickerstaff
- William Temple - Memoirs: Part III (ed. Jonathan Swift)
- John TrenchardJohn Trenchard (writer)John Trenchard , English writer and Commonwealthman, belonged to the same Dorset family as the Secretary of State Sir John Trenchard.Trenchard was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and became a lawyer...
-The Natural History of Superstition
New drama
- Anthony AstonAnthony AstonAnthony Aston was an English actor and dramatist.He began to be known on the London stage in the early years of the 18th century. He had tried the law and other professions, which he finally abandoned for the theatre...
- Love in a Hurry - Susanna CentlivreSusanna CentlivreSusanna Centlivre born Susanna Freeman, also known professionally as Susanna Carroll, was an English poet, actress and one of the premier dramatists of the 18th century. During her long career at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, she became known as the Second Woman of the English Stage after Aphra Behn...
- The Busie Body- - The Man's Bewitch'd
- Colley CibberColley CibberColley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
- The Rival Fools - Prosper Jolyot de CrébillonProsper Jolyot de CrébillonProsper Jolyot de Crébillon was a French poet and tragedian.-Life and works:He was born in Dijon, where his father, Melchior Jolyot, was notary-royal. Having been educated at the Jesuit school in the town, and afterwards at the Collège Mazarin. He became an advocate, and was placed in the office...
- Electre - John Dennis - Appius and Virginia
- Thomas d'UrfeyThomas d'UrfeyThomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
- The Modern Prophets - Juan Claudio de la Hoz y MotaJuan Claudio de la Hoz y MotaJuan Claudio de la Hoz y Mota , Spanish dramatist, was born in Madrid. He became a Knight of Santiago in 1653, and soon afterwards succeeded his father as regidor of Burgos....
- José, salvador de Egipto - Charles JohnsonCharles Johnson (writer)Charles Johnson was an English playwright, tavern keeper, and enemy of Alexander Pope's. He was a dedicated Whig who allied himself with the Duke of Marlborough, Colley Cibber, and those who rose in opposition to Queen Anne's Tory ministry of 1710 - 1714.Johnson claimed to be trained in the law,...
- Love and Liberty (not performed) - Alain-René LesageAlain-René LesageAlain-René Lesage was a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks , his comedy Turcaret , and his picaresque novel Gil Blas .-Youth and education:Claude Lesage, the father of the novelist, held the united...
- TurcaretTurcaretTurcaret is a comedy by Alain-René Lesage, first produced on 14 February 1709 at the Comédie-Française. It is considered one of Lesage's most important works.... - Mary PixMary PixMary Pix was an English novelist and playwright. Church records indicate that she lived in London, marrying George Pix, a merchant tailor from Hawkhurst, Kent in 1684. Baptismal records reveal that she had two sons, George and William...
- The Adventures in Madrid
Poetry
- John ReynoldsJohn ReynoldsJohn Reynolds may refer to:* John Reynolds , English writer* John Reynolds , soldier in the English Civil War* John Reynolds , farmer and agricultural innovator from Kent, England...
- Death's Vision Represented in a Philosophical Sacred Poem - Poetical Miscellanies: The Sixth Part (aka "Tonson's Miscllanies")
Births
- April 14 - Charles ColléCharles ColléCharles Collé was a French dramatist and songwriter.The son of a notary, he was born in Paris. He became interested in the rhymes of Jean Heguanier, the most famous writer of couplets in Paris. From a notary's office, Collé was transferred to that of the receiver-general of finance, where he...
, dramatists - August 7 - Jean-Jacques Lefranc, marquis de PompignanJean-Jacques Lefranc, marquis de PompignanJean-Jacques Lefranc , Marquis de Pompignan was a French man of letters and erudition, who published a considerable output of theatrical work, poems, literary criticism, and polemics; treatises on archeology, nature, travel and many other subjects; and a wide selection of highly-regarded...
, French poet (died 1784) - August 29 - Jean-Baptiste-Louis GressetJean-Baptiste-Louis GressetJean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset was a French poet and dramatist, best known for his poem Vert-Vert....
, poet and dramatist (died 1777) - September 18 - Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
(died 1784) - December 25 - Julien Offray de La MettrieJulien Offray de La MettrieJulien Offray de La Mettrie was a French physician and philosopher, and one of the earliest of the French materialists of the Enlightenment...
, French author (died 1751) - unknown date
- John ArmstrongJohn Armstrong (poet)Dr. John Armstrong was a poet. He was the son of the minister of Castleton, Roxburghshire, Scotland and studied medicine, which he practised in London....
, poet - Richard BurnRichard BurnRichard Burn was an English legal writer.-Education and career:...
, legal writer - John ClelandJohn ClelandJohn Cleland was an English novelist most famous and infamous as the author of Fanny Hill: or, the Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure....
, controversial English novelist (died 1789) - John BanksJohn Bancks-References:...
- John Armstrong
- probable
- James AdairJames Adair (historian)James Adair was a native of County Antrim, Ireland, who came to North America, and became a trader with the Native Americans of the southern states...
, historian
- James Adair
Deaths
- February 15 - John PhilipsJohn PhilipsJohn Philips was an 18th century English poet.- Early life and education :Philips was born at Bampton, Oxfordshire, the son of Rev. Stephen Philips, later archdeacon of Salop, and his wife Mary Wood. He was at first taught by his father and then went to Winchester College...
, poet (born 1676) - June 30 - Edward LhuydEdward LhuydEdward Lhuyd was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also known by the Latinized form of his name, Eduardus Luidius....
, naturalist (born 1660) - July 8 - Gustaf AdlerfeltGustaf AdlerfeltGustaf Adlerfelt was a Swedish historical writer born near Stockholm, brother of Pehr Adlerfelt.He was appointed by Charles XII "gentleman of the court" and afterwards accompanied him to his military campaigns, and writing a journal on them...
, historian (born 1671) - December 8 - Thomas CorneilleThomas CorneilleThomas Corneille was a French dramatist.- Personal life :Born in Rouen nearly twenty years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself early. At the age of fifteen he composed a play in Latin which was performed by his fellow-pupils at the...
, dramatist (born 1625) - date unknown
- Robert GouldRobert GouldRobert Gould was a significant voice in Restoration poetry in England.He was born in the lower classes and orphaned when he was thirteen. It is possible that he had a sister, but her name and fate are unknown. Gould entered into domestic service...
, poet (born c.1660) - Mary PixMary PixMary Pix was an English novelist and playwright. Church records indicate that she lived in London, marrying George Pix, a merchant tailor from Hawkhurst, Kent in 1684. Baptismal records reveal that she had two sons, George and William...
, dramatist (born 1666)
- Robert Gould