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1672-1719
Poet and essayist. He was born in Wiltshire and lived in Lichfield from the age of eleven, in 1683, when his father became the Dean of Lichfield. He was educated at the local Grammar school before going to Charterhouse then Queen's and Magdalen Colleges, Oxford, where he studied classics. At Charterhouse he was to make a friend of Richard Steele, who was later to become the founder of The tatler.
Addison set his sights on a diplomatic career and travelled widely. He secured the post of Commissioner of Excise in 1705 through his political contacts and by especially writing a poem, The campaign (1704), which celebrated the triumph of the Battle of Blenheim. Three years later he became a Member of Parliament, a position he was to retain for the rest of his life. From 1713 he lived at Bilton Hall, in the village of Bilton, then just outside Rugby.
Through his many political and literary acquaintances he published a range of his work in various periodicals including The tatler, The spectator and The guardian. His blank-verse tragedy Cato was produced in 1713 and was a great success through its pertinent political comment. It was described as "rather a poem in dialogue than a drama" by Samuel Johnson.
The following works are available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection:-
Coverley Papers from The Spectator
Essays from The Spectator
Essays Of Joseph Addison
Essays Of Joseph Addison vol. 1
Essays Of Joseph Addison vol. 2
Interesting anecdotes, memoirs, allegories, essays
Miscellaneous works of Joseph Addison vol. 1
Miscellaneous works of Joseph Addison vol. 2
Poetical works of Joseph Addison
Works of Joseph Addison vol. 1
Works of Joseph Addison vol. 3
Works of Joseph Addison vol. 5
Works of Joseph Addison vol. 6
A selection of poetry by the author can be found in Representative poetry online, part of the University of Toronto site.
The following works are available in the West Midlands Creative Literature Collection:-
Addison (1884) by W.J. Courthope
Life of Joseph Addison (1954) by Peter Smithers
You can read online here the section on Joseph Addison from Lives of the Poets by Samuel Johnson.
Page created 2 September 2001 and last updated 28 October 2002
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