William Hatchett

Patrick Spedding (Monash University)
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William Hatchett was a translator, playwright and pamphleteer who flourished in London in the early eighteenth century. He appears to have been the life-long partner of Eliza Haywood (1693-1756) and he is of interest today principally for this reason. Few records survive concerning Hatchett. Most of what is known concerning him is to be found in his works, principally his autobiographical pamphlet

A Remarkable Cause on a Note of Hand

(1742). Hatchett was born c.1701, went to school in York and there became acquainted with Bryan Dawson. By the late 1720s Hatchett was living in London. His first three publications (translations of substantial French works) appeared within a period of six months from October 1728. These were: Jean Paul Bignon’s

Les aventures d’Abdalla, fils d’Hanif

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Citation: Spedding, Patrick. "William Hatchett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 July 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5946, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5946 William Hatchett 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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