1780 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1780 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- Karl von MarinelliKarl von MarinelliKarl Edler von Marinelli was an actor, theatre manager and playwright....
becomes head of the Schultz theatre company ("Schultzsche Gesellschaft") of Baden. - Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
is elected to Parliament
New books
- Elizabeth Blower - The Parsonage House
- Herbert Croft - Love and MadnessLove and MadnessLove and Madness is a 1780 British novel by Sir Herbert Croft. It was based on the 1779 murder of Martha Ray, the mistress of Lord Sandwich, by James Hackman. Its full title is Love and Madness, a Story too True: in a Series of Letters between Parties Whose Names Would Perhaps be Mentioned Were...
- Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire - The Sylph
- Thomas HolcroftThomas HolcroftThomas Holcroft was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer.-Early life:He was born in Orange Court, Leicester Fields, London. His father had a shoemaker's shop, and kept riding horses for hire; but having fallen into difficulties was reduced to the status of hawking peddler...
- Alwyn - Sophia LeeSophia LeeSophia Lee was an English novelist and dramatist.She was the daughter of John Lee , actor and theatrical manager, and was born in London...
- The Chapter of Accidents - Margaret Minifie - The Count de Poland
- Samuel Jackson PrattSamuel Jackson PrattSamuel Jackson Pratt was a prolific English poet, dramatist and novelist, writing under the pseudonym of "Courtney Melmoth" as well as under his own name...
- Emma Corbett
New drama
- Hannah CowleyHannah CowleyHannah Cowley was an English dramatist and poet. Although Cowley’s plays and poetry did not enjoy wide popularity after the nineteenth century, critic Melinda Finberg rates Cowley as “one of the foremost playwrights of the late eighteenth century” whose “skill in writing fluid, sparkling dialogue...
- The Belle's StratagemThe Belle's StratagemThe Belle's Stratagem is a romantic comedy of manners that premiered on February 22, 1780; it was the most successful work by Hannah Cowley. It drew its title from George Farquhar's play The Beaux' Stratagem. The show was presented by David Garrick, filling the 2,000-seat Drury Lane theatre. to... - John O'Keeffe - Tony LumpkinTony LumpkinTony Lumpkin is a fictional character who first appeared in Oliver Goldsmith's play, She Stoops to Conquer.Tony Lumpkin is the son of Mrs Hardcastle and stepson to Mr Hardcastle. It is as a result of his practical joking that the comic aspects of the play are set up...
in Town (reuse of Oliver GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
's character)
New poetry
- Hannah CowleyHannah CowleyHannah Cowley was an English dramatist and poet. Although Cowley’s plays and poetry did not enjoy wide popularity after the nineteenth century, critic Melinda Finberg rates Cowley as “one of the foremost playwrights of the late eighteenth century” whose “skill in writing fluid, sparkling dialogue...
- The Maid of Aragon - George CrabbeGeorge CrabbeGeorge Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...
- The Candidate - Herbert Croft - The Abbey of Kilkhampton; or, Monumental Records for the Year 1980 (satire)
- Susannah Harrison - Songs in the Night
- William HayleyWilliam HayleyWilliam Hayley was an English writer, best known as the friend and biographer of William Cowper.-Biography:...
- An Essay on History - Anna SewardAnna SewardAnna Seward was an English Romantic poet, often called the Swan of Lichfield.-Life:Seward was the elder daughter of Thomas Seward , prebendary of Lichfield and Salisbury, and author...
- Elegy on Captain Cook - Christoph Martin WielandChristoph Martin WielandChristoph Martin Wieland was a German poet and writer.- Biography :He was born at Oberholzheim , which then belonged to the Free Imperial City of Biberach an der Riss in the south-east of the modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg...
- OberonOberon (poem)Oberon is an epic poem by the German writer Christoph Martin Wieland. It was based on the epic romance Huon de Bordeaux, a French medieval tale. It first appeared in 1780 and went through seven rewrites before its final form was published in 1796...
Non-fiction
- William BeckfordWilliam BeckfordWilliam Beckford may refer to:* William Beckford , English businessman, often called "Alderman Beckford", father of William Thomas* William Beckford of Somerley , Jamaican slave-owner and writer...
- Biographical Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters - Jacob BryantJacob BryantJacob Bryant was a British scholar and mythographer, who has been described as "the outstanding figure among the mythagogues who flourished in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries".-Life:...
- An Address to Dr. PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works... - Edmund BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
- Speech on Oeconomical Reformation - William CombeWilliam CombeWilliam Combe was a British miscellaneous writer. His early life was that of an adventurer, his later was passed chiefly within the "rules" of the King's Bench Prison. He is chiefly remembered as the author of The Three Tours of Dr. Syntax, a comic poem...
- Letters of the Late Lord Lyttelton (forgeries) - Martin MadanMartin MadanMartin Madan was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for controversial views on marriage expressed in his book Thelyphthora.-Life:...
- Thelyphthora (in favor of polygamyPolygamyPolygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
) - Johannes von MüllerJohannes von MüllerJohannes von Müller was a Swiss historian.-Biography:He was born at Schaffhausen, where his father was a clergyman and rector of the gymnasium. In his youth, his maternal grandfather, Johannes Schoop , roused in him an interest in the history of his country...
- Geschichten der Schweizer - John NicholsJohn Nichols (printer)John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...
- A Select Collection of Poems - Richard PriceRichard PriceRichard Price was a British moral philosopher and preacher in the tradition of English Dissenters, and a political pamphleteer, active in radical, republican, and liberal causes such as the American Revolution. He fostered connections between a large number of people, including writers of the...
- An Essay on the Population of England - Joseph PriestleyJoseph PriestleyJoseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
- Letters to a Philosophical UnbelieverLetters to a Philosophical UnbelieverLetters to a Philosophical Unbeliever is a multi-volume series of books on metaphysics by eighteenth-century British polymath Joseph Priestley.... - Isaac ReedIsaac ReedIsaac Reed was an English Shakespearean editor.-Life:The son of a baker, he was born in London. He was articled to a solicitor, and eventually set up as a conveyancer at Staple Inn, where he had a large practice.-Works:...
- A Select Collection of Old Plays (from Robert DodsleyRobert DodsleyRobert Dodsley was an English bookseller and miscellaneous writer.-Life:He was born near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, where his father was master of the free school....
's press) - 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"...
- Supplement to the Edition of Shakespeare's Plays Published in 1778 by Samuel Johnson and George Stevens (by Edmund Malone) - Sarah TrimmerSarah TrimmerSarah Trimmer was a noted writer and critic of British children's literature in the eighteenth century...
- An Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature, and Reading the Holy Scriptures (for children) - John WesleyJohn WesleyJohn Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
- Reflections on the Rise and Progress of the American Rebellion - Arthur Young - A Tour in Ireland
Births
- March 10 - Frances TrollopeFrances TrollopeFrances Milton Trollope was an English novelist and writer who published as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope...
, novelist (d. 1863) - June 1 - Carl von ClausewitzCarl von ClausewitzCarl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
, soldier and military historian and theorist (d. 1831) - June 3 - William HoneWilliam HoneWilliam Hone was an English writer, satirist and bookseller. His victorious court battle against government censorship in 1817 marked a turning point in the fight for British press freedom.-Biography:...
, satirist (d. 1842) - December 20 - John Wilson CrokerJohn Wilson CrokerJohn Wilson Croker was an Irish statesman and author.He was born at Galway, the only son of John Croker, the surveyor-general of customs and excise in Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1800...
, statesman and author (d. 1857) - December 26 - Mary SomervilleMary SomervilleMary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged...
, science writer (d. 1872)
Deaths
- January 31 - Jonathan CarverJonathan CarverJonathan Carver was an American explorer and writer. He was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts and then moved with his family to Canterbury, Connecticut. He later married Abigail Robbins and became a shoemaker. He is believed to have had seven children.In 1755 Carver joined the colonial militia at...
, explorer and writer (b. 1710) - February 17 – Andreas Felix von OefeleAndreas Felix von OefeleAndreas Felix von Oefele was a German historian and librarian.Von Oefele was born in Munich, the son of an innkeeper. He attended the Jesuit secondary school "Wilhelmsgymnasium" and continued his studies of Law, history and theology at the universities of Ingolstadt and Leuven...
, German historian and librarian (b. 1706) - April 29 - Claude Joseph DoratClaude Joseph DoratClaude Joseph Dorat was a French writer, also known as Le Chevalier Dorat.He was born in Paris, of a family consisting of generations of lawyers, and he joined the corps of the kings musketeers...
, "Le Chevalier Dorat", poet and novelist (b. 1734) - July 14 - Charles BatteuxCharles BatteuxCharles Batteux was a French philosopher and writer on aesthetics.Batteux was born in Alland'Huy-et-Sausseuil, Ardennes, and studied theology at Reims. In 1739 he came to Paris, and after teaching in the colleges of Lisieux and Navarre, was appointed to the chair of Greek and Roman philosophy in...
, philosopher (b. 1713) - September 23 - Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du DeffandMarie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du DeffandMarie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand was a French hostess and patron of the arts.She was born at the Château de Chamrond, in Ligny-en-Brionnais, a village near Charolles of a noble family. Educated at a convent in Paris, she showed great intelligence and a sceptical, cynical turn of...
, salon hostess (b. 1697) - February 14 - William BlackstoneWilliam BlackstoneSir William Blackstone KC SL was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the Commentaries on the Laws of England. Born into a middle class family in London, Blackstone was educated at Charterhouse School before matriculating at Pembroke...
, jurist and legal author (b. 1723)