Swift in Print
Published Texts in Dublin and London, 1691-1765

Analysis of the books, pamphlets and single sheets in which Jonathan Swift's writings were first published in Dublin and London.

Valerie Rumbold (Author)

9781108839440, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 June 2020

340 pages, 14 b/w illus. 1 table
23.5 x 15.9 x 2 cm, 0.66 kg

Presenting a fresh perspective on one of the most celebrated print canons in literary history, Valerie Rumbold explores the expressive force of print context, format, typography, ornament and paratext encountered by early readers of Jonathan Swift. By focusing on the books, pamphlets and single sheets in which the Dublin and London book trades published his work, this revealing whole-career analysis, based on a chronology of publication that often lagged years behind dates of composition, examines first editions and significant reprints throughout Swift's lifetime, and posthumous first editions and collections in the twenty years after his death. Drawing on this material evidence, Rumbold reframes Swift's publishing career as a late expression of an early modern formation in which publishing was primarily an adjunct to public service. In an age of digital reading, this timely study invites a new engagement with the printed texts of Swift.

Part I. Beginnings: 1. First Impressions: Dublin and London to 1699
Part II. London: 2. The Shock of the Normal: From Temple to the Tale (1693–1705)
3. Material Voices: the Bickerstaff Effect (1705–1710)
4. Politics and Permanence: Miscellanies, Politics and a Proposal Declined (1710–1714)
Part III. Dublin: 5. The Irish Patriot in Print (1720–1725)
6. Delegating in London, Recouping in Dublin: Travels, Miscellanies, the Intelligencer and A Modest Proposal (1726–1729)
7. The Works of J. S, D. D, D. S. P. D. (1731–1735)
Part IV. Into the Future: 8. Ending and Going on (1736–1765).

Subject Areas: Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK], Literary studies: poetry & poets [DSC], Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800 [DSBD]