"D'ye laugh Reader? Why e'en much good may it do ye!"

Thus begins John Dunton's 1691 novel A Voyage Round the World. As a publisher John Dunton was an innovator - producing the first Question and Answer periodical as well as the first periodical directed at women. His interests ranged across politics, religion, literature and science.

He was also an indefatigable writer whose output was exceeded perhaps only by Daniel Defoe's. His works are an invaluable resource to scholars of early modern print culture and the long 18th century. His partially autobiographical novel A Voyage Round the World was a precursor of Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy and even more misunderstood.

So why is he so little known?

You've come to the

John Dunton Homepage

devoted to not only the man himself but to publishing and bookselling in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. The book explosion of the period bears some striking resemblances to our own cybermania and has a lot to tell us. If we listen.

Still listening???

"Exit bookseller. Enter author to play all the parts."
Background
  • A brief biography of Dunton to begin with.
  • A bibliography of secondary sources on Dunton.
  • And, for more information on the family, visit the Dunton Family Homesite. I cannot think of anything more appropriate than Dunton's descendants publishing on the web.
    His Works
  • A chronological bibliography of Dunton's writing.
    Almost none of Dunton's works are available in reliable modern editions with the exception of a recent edition(1999) of The Dublin Scuffle with an introduction by Andrew Carpenter. It is unfortunately expensive and not easily obtained.
    The Art of Living Incognito is available through the Early English Books OnLine. This is a subscription only site. Check with your home institution or research library to see if they subscribe.
    Until more of Dunton's works make it back into print, here are links to some of his shorter pieces. Please note, this is not necessarily a good, nor fair, representation of Dunton's voluminous output.
  • The He-Strumpets
    Bookselling and publishing and early print culture sites.
  • Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing.
  • Restoration Print Culture
  • Media History Project
  • Early Modern Resources - The Long 18th Century
  • English Language and Literature Research Guide
    Resources on early prose fiction and narrative theory.
  • 18th Century English Novel Research Guide
  • Bibliography on the Novel
    And finally, some connections to cyberculture, media studies and hyperfiction sites.
  • Voice of the Shuttle's Cyberculture page.
  • The Electronic Labyrinth
  • Hyperizons
    Last updated March 2006
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