Dictionary of Literary Biography: British Prose Writers 1660-1800

The diverse intellectual and artistic achievements of this century and a half are reflected in the lives and works covered in this volume. It was in this period that British writers began to move away from formally structured prose, creating a 'revolution in style' that laid the foundations of contemporary prose style. Also, with much of the nonfiction of this time serving as 'how-to' manuals on the art of living, a great many insights remain valid in our age. This collection covers writers such as David Hume, who was characteristically talented in a variety of disciplines. Best-known as a great philosopher, he framed the era's scientific discoveries and liberated thinking with his artful essays on everything from manners and tragedy to economics and history. 24 entries include: James Boswell, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, Sir John Hawkins, Samuel Johnson, Catherine Macaulay, Thomas Percy, Hester Lynch, Adam Smith, Horace Walpole, John Wesley and Mary Wollstonecraft.