The Grub Street Journal, 1730–1733
Editor: Bertrand A Goldgar
978 1 85196 744 5: 234x156mm: £350.00/$625.00
The Grub Street Journal was perhaps the most widely-read weekly journal in England of its period. The first four years are reprinted here, representing the journal in its prime in terms of quality and popularity. Apart from making a rare literary journal available again this new edition is enhanced with a general introduction and comprehensive annotation.
The Grub Street Journal was known for its witty and outrageous style. Edited by Richard Russel and John Martyn (for the first year and a half), the journal’s aim was to `attack lewd and vicious Nonsense’ or `wicked stupidity’ in order to `reform the taste of the generality of Readers which is very much depraved.’ Swift, Fielding and Pope all had their works scrutinised by the journal and Pope was an occasional contributor himself.
This reprint will not only be a vital resource for researchers interested in the Swift-Pope circle, the Grub Street Journal is also rich with political satire targeted at Robert Walpole’s administration. The journal was also a reaction to the print explosion in England at that time which blessed England with a mass of hack writers and unscrupulous booksellers. The discussions and accounts of dubious practices that accompanied this boom are an excellent source for academics studying the history of journalism and publishing.
- Text reproduced in facsimile
- General introduction
- Full editorial annotation
Reviews
‘No one is more qualified to write about The Grub-Street Journal than Professor Goldgar…. Professor Goldgar’s introduction is succinctly informative and up-to-date on the editors and their political position’
– J A Downie, The Library