The Ways of The World (1753-56):  authorship, irony, and the essay-periodical

Shaun Regan

doi:10.1353/mlr.00093

The Ways of The World (1753-56): authorship, irony, and the essay-periodical

Shaun Regan

School of Arts, English and Languages

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Mainly known today for its role in the dispute over the Earl of Chesterfield’s patronage (or otherwise) of Johnson’s Dictionary, Robert Dodsley and Edward Moore’s The World (1753-56) was one of the most successful single-essay periodicals of its day. This article presents a detailed account of the work, focusing especially on the critical and historical issues raised by its multiple authorship, essayistic tone, and elite associations. Turning to its early nineteenth-century afterlives, the article also assesses how The World’s trademark irony and titled contributors affected its standing at this key moment in the canonization of the classic essay serials.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	333-354
Number of pages	22
Journal	Modern Language Review
Volume	120
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1353/mlr.00093
Publication status	Published - 01 Jul 2025

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This work is licensed under Queen’s Research Publications and Copyright Policy.

Keywords

authorship
irony
essay-periodical

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The Ways of The World (1753-56): authorship, irony, and the essay-periodical
Copyright 2025 the authors. This is an accepted manuscript distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the author and source are cited.
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Cite this

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