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Charles II Restored to the English Throne
A political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in 1658 resulted in the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles was invited to return to Britain -
The London (Oxford) Gazette Published
Was sent by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public. Government Published Paper. One of the official journals of record of the British government. Today: Claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK. -
The Great Fire of London
This destroyed many manuscripts, so many that we are lacking a majority of texts from that time. Also destroyed many printers. -
Paradise Lost Published
by John Milton -
Period: to
The Glorious Revolution
Deposition of James II and the accession of William of Orange. Signified the exchange of power in England without hardly any sehd of innocent lives. Orange installed his Declaration of Rights. Influenced many other country's government systems. -
Death of John Dryden
Dryden was the dominant literary figure and influence of his age. He established the heroic couplet as a standard form of English poetry by writing successful satires, religious pieces, fables, epigrams, compliments, prologues, and plays with it; he also introduced the alexandrine and triplet into the form. -
The Daily Courant Published
The first English daily newspaper -
Act of Union Unites Scotland and England creating the nation of "Great Britain"
The Acts took effect on 1 May 1707. On this date, the Scottish Parliament and the English Parliament united to form the Parliament of Great Britain, based in the Palace of Westminster in London, the home of the English Parliament.[3] Hence, the Acts are referred to as the Union of the Parliaments. -
The Tatler Published
Weekly Published Periodical -
The Spectator Newspaper Published
The Spectator, a periodical published in London by the essayists Sir Richard Steele and Joseph Addison from March 1, 1711, to Dec. 6, 1712 (appearing daily), and subsequently revived by Addison in 1714 (for 80 numbers). It adopted a fictional method of relaying informaiton -
The first journals to be published weekly
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Rule by house of Hanover begins with accession of George I
During George's reign, the powers of the monarchy diminished and Britain began a transition to the modern system of cabinet government led by a prime minister. Towards the end of his reign, actual power was held by Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first de facto prime minister. -
Robinson Crusoe Published
by Daneil Defoe. An epistolary confessional. A very popular book. Marked the beginning of realistic fiction as a literary genre. Its success led to many imitators, and castaway novels became quite popular in Europe in the 18th and early 19th centuries. -
The Gentleman's Magazine Published
Was similar to that of the newspaper but was composed more of works created from authors of the time period -
Pamela Published
by Samuel Richardson. An epistolary novel. A bestseller of its time, was very widely read but criticized for its perceived licentiousness. -
Period: to
The Great Awakening
Religious Revival -
Deaths of Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift
1744-1745
Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. Famous for his use of the heroic couplet, he is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson.
Swift is remembered for works such as Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books -
Death of Samuel Johnson
Often referred to as Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson was a devout Anglican and committed Tory, and has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history".[1] He is also the subject of "the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of literature": James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. -
Tom Jones
by Henry Fielding
Tom Jones is among the earliest English prose works describable as a novel -
"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"
By Thomas Gray. Employs a style similar to that of contemporary odes, but it embodies a meditation on death, and remembrance after death. Quckly became very popular. Printed many times, translated into many languages, and praised by critics. -
Dictionary
by Ben Johnson
Johnson took nearly nine years to complete the work, although he had claimed he could finish it in three. Remarkably, he did so single-handedly, with only clerical assistance to copy out the illustrative quotations that he had marked in books. Johnson produced several revised editions during his life. -
French Revolution Begins
Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy–of monarchy, aristocracy, and religious authority–were abruptly overthrown by new Enlightenment principles of equality, citizenship and inalienable rights -
Romanticism begins Wordsworth and Coleridge
Lyrical Ballads (launched Romanticism; includes Tintern Abbey and Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
