Reading 1759

Reading 1759 investigates the literary culture of a remarkable year in British and French history, writing, and ideas. Examining key works by Johnson, Voltaire, Sterne, Adam Smith, Edward Young, Sarah Fielding, and Christopher Smart, the volume presents a wide-ranging account of the year’s work in literature and of the key issues that preoccupied writers at this time: from empire, civilization, and social reform to Enlightenment knowledge, authorial originality, and literary taste.