The Sir Roger De Coverley Papers, From The Spectator

1911. With introduction and notes by William Henry Hudson. Addison in association with Richard Steele perfected the essay as a literary form in their contributions to The Tatler and The Spectator. This volume is a collection of essays the two authors wrote for The Spectator. To give them a unifying principle Addison and Steele chose an imaginary club since clubs occupied such prominence in London social life. Their fictional, The Spectator Club, small and select as it is, was designed to be widely representative in its composition. Sir Roger de Coverley stands for the country gentry and Toryism; Sir Andrew Freeport for the commercial interest and Whiggism; the Templar, the Clergyman, and Captain Sentry, for the law, the church, and the army; and Will Honeycomb for fashion and society. In these essays, Addison and Steele describe with admirable humor and insight the daily scenes and happenings of contemporary life.