1726 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1726 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
arrives for a 3 year stay in England. - Lavinia FentonLavinia FentonLavinia Powlett, Duchess of Bolton , known by her stagename as Lavinia Fenton, was an English actress.She was probably the daughter of a naval lieutenant named Beswick, but she bore the name of her mother's husband. She was thought to have been born in Charring Cross, and had been a child...
makes her debut as Monimia in Thomas OtwayThomas OtwayThomas Otway was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for Venice Preserv'd, or A Plot Discover'd .-Life:...
's The Orphan at the Haymarket Theatre. - Françoise-Louise de WarensFrançoise-Louise de WarensFrançoise-Louise de Warens, born Louise Éléonore de la Tour du Pil, also called Madame de Warens , was the benefactress and mistress of Jean-Jacques Rousseau....
converts to Catholicism. - The Gujin tushu jichengGujin Túshu JíchéngThe Gujin Tushu Jicheng , is a vast encyclopaedic work written in China during the reigns of Qing emperors Kangxi and Yongzheng, completed in 1725. The work was headed initially by scholar Chen Menglei , and later by Jiang Tingxi. It contained 800,000 pages and over 100 million Chinese characters...
, an immense Chinese encyclopedia, is printed using copperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-based movable typeMovable typeMovable type is the system of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document ....
printingPrintingPrinting is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing....
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New books
- Anonymous - Gulliver Decyphered
- Corporate authorship - The Craftsman (periodical associated with Henry St. JohnHenry St. JohnHenry St. John is the name of:*Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke , English politician and philosopher*Henry St. John , U.S. Representative from OhioHenry St...
) - Penelope AubinPenelope AubinPenelope Aubin was an English novelist and translator.-Works:* The Stuarts : A Pindarique Ode * The Extasy: A Pindarick Ode to Her Majesty The Queen...
- The Life and Adventures of the Lady Lucy (novel) - Jane BarkerJane BarkerJane Barker was an English poet and novelist of the early 18th century. The Amours of Bosvil and Galesia was considered her most successful work. A staunch Jacobite, she followed King James II of England into exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in France shortly after James’ defeat in the Glorious...
- The Lining of the Patch-Work Screen (sequel to 1723's1723 in literatureThe year 1723 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Voltaire contracts smallpox.* The book collection of Samuel Pepys is transferred to the Pepys Library at Magdalene College, Cambridge.-New books:...
A Patch-Work Screen) - William Rufus ChetwoodWilliam Rufus ChetwoodWilliam Rufus Chetwood was an English or Anglo-Irish publisher and bookseller, and a prolific writer of plays and adventure novels. He also penned a valuable General History of the Stage.-Publishing and prompting:...
- The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Robert Boyle (fiction, sometimes attrib. 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,...
) - Eliza HaywoodEliza HaywoodEliza Haywood , born Elizabeth Fowler, was an English writer, actress and publisher. Since the 1980s, Eliza Haywood’s literary works have been gaining in recognition and interest...
- The City Jilt
- The Mercenary Lover
- Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
- Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's TravelsTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
- Cadenus and Vanessa
- Gulliver's Travels
- Lewis TheobaldLewis TheobaldLewis Theobald , British textual editor and author, was a landmark figure both in the history of Shakespearean editing and in literary satire...
- Shakespeare Restored
New drama
- Aaron Hill - The Fatal Extravagance
- Thomas SoutherneThomas SoutherneThomas Southerne , Irish dramatist, was born at Oxmantown, near Dublin, in 1660, and entered Trinity College, Dublin in 1676. Two years later he was entered at the Middle Temple, London....
- Money the Mistress - Leonard WelstedLeonard WelstedLeonard Welsted was an English poet and "dunce" in Alexander Pope's writings . Welsted was an accomplished writer who composed in a relaxed, light hearted vein...
- The Dissembling Wanton
Poetry
- Alexander PopeAlexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
- The Odyssey of Homer - Richard SavageRichard SavageRichard Savage was an English poet. He is best known as the subject of Samuel Johnson's Life of Savage , on which is based one of the most elaborate of Johnson's Lives of the English Poets....
- Miscellaneous Poems - William SomervileWilliam SomervileWilliam Somervile or Somerville was an English poet.-Ancestry:The name Somervile is derived from a town near Caen in Normandy subsequently named Somervile....
- Occasional Poems - James Thomson - Winter (part of The Four Seasons)
Non-fiction
- John BalguyJohn BalguyJohn Balguy was an English divine and philosopher.-Early years:He was born at Sheffield and educated at the Sheffield Grammar School and at St John's College, Cambridge, graduated BA in 1706, was ordained in 1710, and in 1711 obtained the small living of Lamesley and Tanfield...
- A letter to a Deist concerning the Beauty and Excellency of Moral Virtue, and the Support and Improvement which it receives from the Christian Religion - Joseph ButlerJoseph ButlerJoseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire . He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity...
- Fifteen Sermons - Anthony CollinsAnthony CollinsAnthony Collins , was an English philosopher, and a proponent of deism.-Life and Writings:...
- The Scheme of Literal Prophecy - 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 Political History of the DevilThe Political History of the DevilThe Political History of the Devil is a book by Daniel Defoe .General scholarly opinion is that Defoe really did think of the Devil as a participant in world history...
- A System of Magick
- The Political History of the Devil
- John Dennis - The Stage Defended (reply to Law, below)
- William LawWilliam LawWilliam Law was an English cleric, divine and theological writer.-Early life:Law was born at Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire in 1686. In 1705 he entered as a sizar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; in 1711 he was elected fellow of his college and was ordained...
- The Absolute Unlawfulness of the Stage
- A Practical Treatise upon Christian Perfection
- William PennWilliam PennWilliam Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
- Fruits of a Father's Love
- A Collection of the Works of William Penn
- (with William Pulteney) - The Discovery
- Joseph SpenceJoseph Spence (author)Joseph Spence was a historian, literary scholar and anecdotist, most famous for his collection of anecdotes that are an invaluable resource for historians of 18th century English literature .- Early life :Spence was born on 28 April 1699, at Kingsclere, Hampshire, the son of Joseph Joseph Spence...
- An Essay on Pope's Odyssey (concerning a translation of Homer's OdysseyOdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
by Alexander PopeAlexander PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
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Births
- April 7 - Charles BurneyCharles BurneyCharles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
, music historian and father of Fanny BurneyFanny BurneyFrances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney... - June 14 - Thomas PennantThomas PennantThomas Pennant was a Welsh naturalist and antiquary.The Pennants were a Welsh gentry family from the parish of Whitford, Flintshire, who had built up a modest estate at Bychton by the seventeenth century...
, WelshWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
naturalist and writer (died 1798) - September 25 - Angelo Maria BandiniAngelo Maria BandiniAngelo Maria Bandini was an Italian author and librarian born in Florence.Having been left an orphan in his infancy, he was supported by his uncle, Giuseppe Bandini, a lawyer of some note. He received his education among the Jesuits, and showed a special inclination for the study of antiquities...
, author and librarian (died 1800) - date unknown
- John H. D. AndersonJohn H. D. AndersonJohn Anderson was a Scottish natural philosopherand liberal educator at the forefront of the application of science to technology in the industrial revolution, and of the education and advancement of working men and women....
, natural philosopher (died 1796) - John HowardJohn Howard (prison reformer)John Howard was a philanthropist and the first English prison reformer.-Birth and early life:Howard was born in Lower Clapton, London. His father, also John, was a wealthy upholsterer at Smithfield Market in the city...
, philanthropist and writer (died 1790)
- John H. D. Anderson
Deaths
- March 26 - Sir John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
, dramatist and architect (born 1664) - April 5 - Ludwig BabenstuberLudwig BabenstuberLudwig Babenstuber was a German philosopher and theologian and vice-chancellor of the University of Salzburg.He was born in 1660 at Teining in Bavaria. Having completed his early studies he entered the novitiate of the Order of St...
, theologian and philosopher (born 1660) - April 26 - Jeremy CollierJeremy CollierJeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
, theologian and critic - May 20 - Nicholas BradyNicholas BradyNicholas Brady , Anglican divine and poet, was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. He received his education at Westminster School and at Christ Church, Oxford; he graduated from Trinity College, Dublin....
, poet (born 1659) - July 5 - Domenico VivaDomenico Viva-Life:He was born at Lecce, and entered the Society of Jesus 12 May 1663. He taught he humanities and Greek, nine years' philosophy, eight years moral theology, eight years' Scholastic theology, was two years prefect of studies, was rector of the College of Naples in 1711, and provincial of...
, theologian (born 1648) - December 2 - Samuel PenhallowSamuel PenhallowSamuel Penhallow was a Cornish colonist and historian in early American.-Life:He was born at St Mabon, Cornwall, UK. From 1683 to 1686 he attended a school at Newington Green conducted by the Rev. Charles Morton , a dissenting clergyman, with whom he emigrated to Massachusetts in 1686...
, historian (born 1665) - December 11 - Jacques BouillartJacques BouillartJacques Bouillart was a Benedictine monk of the Congregation of St.-Maur.Bouillart was born in the Diocese of Chartres. He professed at the Monastery of St. Faron de Meaux in 1687. He was the author of Histoire de l'abbaye royale de Saint-Germain-des-Prés...
, Benedictine historian (born 1669) - date unknown
- Charles ShadwellCharles ShadwellCharles Shadwell was an English playwright of the 18th century, date of birth unknown, dead in 1726.The son of Thomas Shadwell, Charles Shadwell was the author of The Fair Quaker of Deal, Irish Hospitality, or, Virtue Rewarded, and other plays, collected and published in 1720....
, dramatist - Humfrey WanleyHumfrey WanleyHumfrey Wanley was a librarian, palaeographer and scholar of Old English, employed by manuscript collectors such as Robert and Edward Harley. He was the first keeper of the Harlein Library, now the Harleian Collection.-Life:...
, librarian and palaeographer (born 1672) - Daniel WhitbyDaniel WhitbyDaniel Whitby was a controversial English theologian and biblical commentator. An Arminian priest in the Church of England, Whitby was known as strongly anti-Calvinistic and later gave evidence of strong Arian and Unitarian tendencies....
, theologian
- Charles Shadwell