Jonathan Swift, Upon the Horrid Plot Discovered by Harlequin the B[ishop] of R[ochester]’s French Dog

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1723

Places

England (Publication/ performance)
Ireland, Republic of (Eire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem
Satire

Resources

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Recommended Reading

One of the author’s most effective topical satires in verse, this work bears a more cumbrous full title:

Upon the Horrid Plot Discovered by Harlequin the B[ishop] of R[ochester]’s French Dog.

It concerns the arrest and trial of Francis Atterbury (1663–1732) and more especially the means used to convict the bishop before the House of Lords on a so called “bill of pains and penalties”. This averted an action for treason in the common law courts. Atterbury had long been a prominent figure in the High Church and the

de facto

ecclesiastical leader within the Tory party. He was arrested in August 1722, imprisoned in the Tower of London, and brought before his peers in May 1723 to face a charge of fomenting a “detestable and horrid conspiracy”. This phrase referred to a plot to…

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1357 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Upon the Horrid Plot Discovered by Harlequin the B[ishop] of R[ochester]’s French Dog". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40724, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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