English Political Writings 1711-1714: 'The Conduct of the Allies' and Other Works

Description

The years 1711 to 1714 saw some of Swift's most brilliant and powerful political pamphleteering. Writing for the Tory government, he did more to settle the fate of parties and the nation than any literary figure, before or since. This volume collects together major defences of the government's position, including The Conduct of the Allies and The Publick Spirit of the Whigs, vigorous attacks on his opponents, short satirical broadsides, and brief contributions to periodicals. It also includes some little known work not present in previous editions of Swift. This is the first fully annotated edition of these works. A comprehensive introduction, drawing on contemporary literary and historical scholarship, is supported by detailed explanatory notes on each text. It is also the first edition to identify and collate all relevant contemporary editions and provide a full account of the textual history of each work.

Bertrand A. Goldgar is Professor of English at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. Ian Gadd is Lecturer in English at Bath Spa University.

'This volume will be of great use to scholars for many years: it is a very solid, if unspectacular, start to the Cambridge Swift, as well as a monument to the meticulous scholarship of Bertrand Goldgar ...' Nicholas McDowell, University of Exeter