In order to earn a living, most attorneys had to
attach themselves to some great patron and serve his interests. So
it was hard for an ordinary person to find an impartial attorney
or to find any attorney willing to contest a powerful family.
The first encyclopedia came into existence in 1728. In 1740 was
the first public circulating library in London. Samuel Johnson put
together the first dictionary in 1755. It standardized spelling
and pronunciation. Then came dictionaries for the arts, sciences,
and commerce. There were histories with political biases such as
the Earl of Clarendon's "History of the Great Rebellion".
Alexander Pope wrote witty satire on human faults of the period
such as "Rape of the Lock". Daniel Defoe wrote "Robinson Crusoe",
"Moll Flanders", and "The Poor Man's Plea" protesting disparity of
judicial treatment of rich and poor, for instance for drunkenness.
Henry Fielding wrote one of the first novels: "Tom Jones". Joseph
Addison wrote essays on social behavior. Jonathan Swift wrote the
satire on the times "Gulliver's Travels". Samuel Richardson wrote
some of the first novels, such as "Clarissa"; he wrote on values
such as religious faith, moral virtue, and family closeness.
Catherine Macaulay started writing her weighty and impressive
"History of England". Many schoolmistresses wrote textbooks on a
variety of subjects. Poet and essayist Hester Chapone wrote
"Letters on the Improvement of the Mind".
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