Pope to Burney, 1714-1779

'Lively, informed, provocative, thought-provoking: Pope to Burney, 1714-1779: Scriblerians to Bluestockings exemplifies the intellectual hustle and bustle of the eighteenth century it investigates so rewardingly. The focus is on literary collaboration, coteries, clubs, and communities, and the range is panoramic. Newspapers, utopian fiction, labouring class writers, the letters of the black slave Ignatius Sancho - all are marshalled in a telling interrogation of Habermas's analysis of the public sphere, enabling trenchant readings of works such as The Dunciad, Gulliver's Travels, and Pamela. The pace never flags in this direct, readable, and confident study, examples and illustrations abound, and there is a wealth of supporting material, including a glossary and annotated bibliography. Haslett positively welcomes students into the sociability of eighteenth-century literary culture.' - Nick Groom, University of Bristol 'A well-written, well-conceived book that usefully reconceives the period.' - Dr J Hawley, Royal Holloway, University of London 'Haslett is thorough in covering a wide range of lterary production...this lively and engaging study paves an accessible path through the heterogeneity of eighteenth-century literary culture and provides a useful, original introduction to the period.' - Alison Stenton, Times Literary Supplement

In her wide-ranging study, Haslett reads key texts - including The Dunciad, Gulliver's Travels and Pamela - in their literary and cultural contexts, and examines such genres as the periodical, the familiar letter, the verse epistle and the novel as textual equivalents of coterie culture.This essential guide defines literature of the eighteenth century as a literature written and received as public conversation. Moyra Haslett discusses and challenges conventional ways of reading the period, particularly in relation to notions of the public sphere. In her wide-ranging study, Haslett reads key texts - including The Dunciad, Gulliver's Travels and Pamela - in their literary and cultural contexts, and examines such genres as the periodical, the familiar letter, the verse epistle and the novel as textual equivalents of coterie culture.