Edmund Curll, Bookseller

by Paul Baines, Pat Rogers

Overview

Edmund Curll was a notorious figure among the publishers of the early eighteenth century: for his boldness, his lack of scruple, his publication of work without author's consent, and his taste for erotic and scandalous publications. He was in legal trouble on several occasions for piracy and copyright infringement, unauthorized publication of the works of peers, and for seditious, blasphemous, and obscene publications. He stood in the pillory in 1728 for seditious libel. Above all, he was the constant target of the greatest poet and satirist of his age, Alexander Pope, whose work he pirated whenever he could and who responded with direct physical revenge (an emetic slipped into a drink) and persistent malign caricature. The war between Pope and Curll typifies some of the main cultural battles being waged between creativity and business. The story has normally been told from the poet's point of view, though more recently Curll has been celebrated as a kind of literary freedom-fighter; this book, the first full biography of Curll since Ralph Straus's The Unspeakable Curll (1927), seeks to give a balanced and thoroughly-researched account of Curll's career in publishing between 1706 and 1747, untangling the mistakes and misrepresentations that have accrued over the years and restoring a clear sense of perspective to Curll's dealings in the literary marketplace. It examines the full range of Curll's output, including his notable antiquarian series, and uses extensive archive material to detail Curll's legal and other troubles. For the first time, what is known about this strange, interesting, and awkward figure is authoritatively told.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199278985
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2007
Pages:	398
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Baines graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1983 and was awarded a PhD by the University of Bristol in 1998. He has held posts at the University of London and St. John's College Oxford and has taught at the University of Liverpool since 1990. Pat Rogers, DeBartolo Professor in the Liberal Arts at the University of South Florida, has held teaching posts at the universities of Cambridge, London, Wales, and Bristol.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Beginnings: 1683-1706
2. In Business: 1707-1710
3. The Four Last Years of Queen Anne: 1710-1714
4. Trading Blows: 1714-1716
5. The Devil's Scout: 1716-1718
6. Curlicism Displayed: 1717-1720
7. Antiquities and Politics: 1717-1722
8. Trials: 1722-1728
9. Tribulations: 1726-1728
10. The Dunciad: 1728-1730
11. Going it Alone: 1728-1732
12. Covent Garden Drollery: 1732-1734
13. Mr Pope's Literary Correspondence: 1734-1736
14. Gold from Dirt: 1737-1742
15. Closing the Books: 1741-1747
Afterword
Appendix 1: Curll's Will
Appendix 2: Curll's Payments to Authors

Editorial Reviews

"Ambitious and important study, it will become a major reference work."—Philological Quarterly

"Baines and Rogers recount [Curll's] professional life with aplomb."-Adam Potkey, SEL

From the Publisher