The Examiner (2)

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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First published in August 1710,

The Examiner

was a government propaganda sheet devised by Henry St John, Viscount Bolingbroke and the first minister, Robert Harley, with the mission of defending “the present measures of her majesty”. It criticised the Whigs for having prolonged the war with Spain and praised Harley’s ministry for seeking a just peace (Ehrenpreis, II 410). It came out weekly, usually with one essay of about 2000 words. For 33 weeks from 2 November 1710 (no. 13) to 14 June 1711 (No. 45) it was written by Jonathan Swift who was succeeded as manager by Mary Delarivière Manley until the periodical closed in 1716. Other notable essays were contributed by Henry St John, first Viscount Bolingbroke, the poet Matthew Prior, and by Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.

The

169 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "The Examiner (2)". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 June 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=13859, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13859 The Examiner (2) 2 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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