Augustans Texts
Primary and Secondary Resources for all your Augustans Needs
Primary Resources
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According to Defoe, there's no such thing as a true-born Englishman. They're all mutts.
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This satirical pamphlet about the Church of England got Defoe into a whole lot of trouble.
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What did Defoe do when he was sentenced to three days of punishment in the gruesome pillory? Wrote about how wonderful it was.
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In this satire, classical and modern books do battle in a library. Yes, really.
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No it's not a satire about a tub. It's a satire about religious excess.
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Richard Steele tattles away in the first issue of The Tatler.
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Joseph Addison speculates to (and about) his readers in this first issue of The Spectator.
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It's an essay, but it's also a poem. Hey, why not?
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Ahhh! A gentleman has stolen a lady's lock of hair… and all hell breaks loose.
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Pope praises the high and mighty Queen Anne in this poem.
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Okay, so the full title is The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. That about sums it up, doesn't it?
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Haywood sticks up for women's rights in this novel.
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Defoe plays with the line between fact and fiction in this novel about the great London plague of 1665.
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Don't you just love how many Fs there are in the title of this novel? Defoe's novel tackles gender (and other) issues head on.
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Swift exposes how the English love messing with currency and money in Ireland—to the detriment of the Irish, naturally.
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Gulliver travels to some pretty incredible places in this novel: there's an island full of tiny people and an island full of giants, for a start.
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In this ballad opera, John Gay lampoons the corrupt morals of English high society.
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What do you do if you have a problem with poverty in Ireland? Eat Irish babies, of course.
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Pamela, the heroine of Richardson's novel, is such a goody two-shoes that she manages to win over her oppressor, Mr. B, with her virtue.
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Pope published several versions of this satire, in which he goes after his literary enemies.
Secondary Resources
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If you want to understand issues of form in Augustan literature, you can start right here.
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This collection of essays covers the Augustan age and much more. It's a comprehensive introduction to the literature of the time.
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You'll learn a lot about Alexander Pope in this in-depth study about the author's super innovative style and themes.
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Learn more about the topsy-turvy life of one of the age's greatest writers in this biography, which also provides an analysis of his works.
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This collection is packed with information about Swift and his writings.