Description

Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician who first met Richard Steele (1672-1729), the Irish writer, playwright and poltiican, when they attended Charterhouse School. Together, they are best remembered as the co-founders of The Spectator, a daily publication lasting from 1711-12. The original run consisted of 555 numbers, beginning on 1 March 1711, which were collected into seven volumes. The aim of The Spectator was to provide readers with topics for well-reasoned discussion, and to equip them to engage in conversations and social interactions in a polite manner. In keeping with the values of the Enlightenment philosophies of the time, the authors of the Spectator promoted family, marriage, and courtesy. This edition includes a selection of Addison and Steele's Spectator essays reprinted from the Cassell's National Library edition of 1888, together with a collection of their Sir Roger de Coverley pieces which also originally appeared in The Spectator. Sir Roger, a recurring character in The Spectator, was an English squire of Queen Anne's reign who exemplified the values of an old country gentleman, and who was portrayed as lovable but slightly ridiculous ('rather beloved than esteemed', Spectator No. 2), making his Tory politics seem harmless but silly. He was said to be the grandson of the man who invented the dance of the same name.