Over the course of his battle with Alexander Pope, lasting almost thirty years, the publisher Edmund Curll (1683–1747) produced an array of sharp ripostes to his adversary. He regularly issued pamphlet attacks on Pope by writers such as John Dennis, William Bond, John Oldmixon, Thomas Foxton, and several more. In addition, some of the most effective among these replies were certainly the work of Curll himself, including the running commentary he provides in Mr. Pope’s Literary Correspondence (5 vols, 1735–37). However, it was the war of words surrounding The Dunciad in 1728 and 1729 that gave Curll the fullest opportunity to exercise his talents as a witty controversialist – one he did not fail to take.
Among items for which Curll was personally responsible, three are of particular interest here. The first is A Compleat...
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The Curliad". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 August 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=10903, accessed 09 June 2026.]
