Joseph Addison

The Spectator

Series of essays on manners, morality, and contemporary life in periodical form

About the author

Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison

English essayist and politician who co-founded The Spectator with Richard Steele in 1711, inventing the modern periodical essay. The Spectator educated its readers in polite manners, cultural appreciation, and civic virtue. His prose style was praised by Dr. Johnson as a model of English.

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