In British history, the years between 1660 and 1789 -- frequently referred to as the "long eighteenth century" -- were marked by seismic shifts in the political, economic, and cultural landscapes. The literary responses to the transformational events that transpired during this period were no less startling. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing features coverage of almost 500 notable writers based in the British Isles from the return of the British monarchy in 1660 until the French Revolution of 1789. While notable writers such as Defoe, Dryden, Pope, Swift, and Johnson are covered, this volume also draws on the latest scholarship to more accurately reflect the literary achievements of this rich and fertile period. Wide ranging essays reveal a time in which aristocratic writers co-existed with professional dramatists and novelists. Also covered are the great many women and working class writers who first entered the literary mainstream, along with clergymen, doctors, lawyers, and distinctive new voices who took advantage of new opportunities to publish in newspapers, anthologies, reviews, and magazines. At once lively and authoritative, The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Eighteenth-Century Writers and Writing: 1660-1789 presents an engaging and invaluable window into the lives and livelihood of British writers from the Restoration to the rise of Romanticism.
