1700s in literature
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Events
- 1709 : Tatler founded by Richard Steele
- 1791: Ireland Shakespeare forgeries, in which author Samuel Ireland announced the discovery of four manuscripts for plays by William Shakespeare, two of which were supposedly new. Their authenticity was accepted by various academics, but scholar Edmund Malone showed that the plays could not date from the Elizabethan era. Ireland then admitted the fraud.
New books and plays
- 1700 : The Way of the World by William Congreve
- 1702 : The Shortest Way with the Dissenters by Daniel Defoe
- 1703 : Hymn to the Pillory by Daniel Defoe
- 1704 : The Campaign by Joseph Addison; Miscellany Poems by William Wycherley
- 1705 : The Mistake by Sir John Vanbrugh; The Gamester by Susannah Centlivre
- 1706 : The Recruiting Officer (play) - George Farquhar
- 1707 : Essay Concerning the Use of Reason - Anthony Collins; The Beaux' Stratagem - George Farquhar
Births
- June 28, 1703 : John Wesley (died 1791)
- April 22, 1707 : Henry Fielding (died 1754)
- September 18, 1709 : Samuel Johnson (died 1784)
Deaths
- May 12, 1700 : John Dryden (born 1631)
- May 26, 1703 : Samuel Pepys (born 1633)
- February 27, 1706 : John Evelyn (born 1620)