Folio Archives 371: Sir Roger de Coverly by Joseph Addison et al. - 1967
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Sir Roger de Coverly by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele and Eustace Budgell. Edited by John Hampden. - 1967
This book was first published in London as a series of articles in the weekly magazine The Tatler, then when that folded, The Spectator, between 1709 and 1713. They described the life of a British aristocrat at his country estate and in his London home. Social engagements, the theatre, life at his exclusive city club, holding “at home” functions, having his portrait painted, attending church and all the other activities expected of the lower nobility were detailed. These articles were later collected together as a book.
There was only one problem – Sir Roger de Coverly was entirely fictitious. He was made up by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, while Eustace Budgell added a few episodes. Addison was a struggling writer and playwright who had the idea, and it was helped along by his friend Sir Richard Steele.
In their day the articles were very successful, and readers eagerly awaited the next episode as they delighted in vicariously living the aristocratic life. Others realised that they were satire, but still enjoyed them for their humour (now rather flat).
I found it easier to read an occasional chapter as an interlude from other books, rather than a straight through cover-to-cover read, and done that way the episodes were reasonably interesting and slightly amusing. Each story is only three or four pages in length.
The 160 page book is edited and introduced by John Hampden. It is beautifully bound in quarter brown buckram cloth with marbled paper boards. The illustrations are a frontispiece double portrait and 30 head-piece wood engravings by Richard Shirley Smith. The endleaves are green, the page tops are stained green and the plain brown slipcase measures 22.6x14.8cm.
. . . . .
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
This book was first published in London as a series of articles in the weekly magazine The Tatler, then when that folded, The Spectator, between 1709 and 1713. They described the life of a British aristocrat at his country estate and in his London home. Social engagements, the theatre, life at his exclusive city club, holding “at home” functions, having his portrait painted, attending church and all the other activities expected of the lower nobility were detailed. These articles were later collected together as a book.
There was only one problem – Sir Roger de Coverly was entirely fictitious. He was made up by Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, while Eustace Budgell added a few episodes. Addison was a struggling writer and playwright who had the idea, and it was helped along by his friend Sir Richard Steele.
In their day the articles were very successful, and readers eagerly awaited the next episode as they delighted in vicariously living the aristocratic life. Others realised that they were satire, but still enjoyed them for their humour (now rather flat).
I found it easier to read an occasional chapter as an interlude from other books, rather than a straight through cover-to-cover read, and done that way the episodes were reasonably interesting and slightly amusing. Each story is only three or four pages in length.
The 160 page book is edited and introduced by John Hampden. It is beautifully bound in quarter brown buckram cloth with marbled paper boards. The illustrations are a frontispiece double portrait and 30 head-piece wood engravings by Richard Shirley Smith. The endleaves are green, the page tops are stained green and the plain brown slipcase measures 22.6x14.8cm.
. . . . .
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed here.
