The Tatler (Vol. 1-4)

Tatler is the iconic literary and society journal founded in 1709. It was issued three times a week for two years and aimed to inform its readers about the latest trends and events in social life. To make sure the editors are aware of all the news in society, they sent their secret reporters to the four most famous coffee houses of the time. Those were White's, Will's, Grecian Coffee House, St. James's Coffee House. The stories were written and edited by Richard Steel, who worked under the pseudonym, Isaac Bickerstaff. Yet later, this name was coverage for other contributors like the famous writer Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison. After two years of life, Tatler left a deep trace in Britain's cultural and literary life. Numerous subsequent incarnations like Tatler in Edinburgh, Female Tatler, the Northern Tatler, and London Tatler continued for decades. Even nowadays, there is an eponymous British magazine of the same thematical direction. After the closure, all Tatler editions were issued as several volumes of collected works, presented here.

Sir Richard Steele (1672 - 1729) was an Irish playwright, writer, politician, and founder of the Tatler magazine. He became a member of Parliament and was renowned for his political pamphlets. His plays also were a great success in the theatres of the time. Besides co-founding and contributing to the Tatler magazine, Steele and Addison founded other short-lived periodicals, The Spectator (1711 - 1712) and Guardian (12 March - 1 October 1713). Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719) was an English poet, playwright, essayist, politician, and the co-founder of the Tatler, Guardian, and The Spectator magazines. He was also known as the creation of the famous plays 'Cato,' 'Rosamond,' 'The Drummer.'