1739 in literature
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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1739.
Events
- January 16 â George Frideric Handel's oratorio Saul is first performed at the King's Theatre, Haymarket, London.[1]
- February 9 â The Scots Magazine first appears.[2]
- February 17 â George Whitefield first preaches in the open air, to miners at Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England.[3]
- March 16 â Henry Brooke's drama Gustavus Vasa becomes the first play banned under the Licensing Act 1737.[4]
- April â John Wesley first preaches in the open air, at Whitefield's invitation.[5]
- November â The Champion (periodical) is launched, with Henry Fielding (under the name Captain Hercules Vinegar) as editor.[6]
- unknown date â The first Bible in the Estonian language, Piibli Ramat, translated by Anton thor Helle, is published.[7]
New books
Prose
- Penelope Aubin â A Collection of Entertaining Histories and Novels[8]
- John Campbell â The Travels and Adventures of Edward Bevan, Esq., formerly a merchant in London
- Elizabeth Carter
- Examination of Mr. Pope's Essay on Man (translation of De Crousaz's Examen de l'essai de Monsieur Pope sur l'homme)
- Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy Explain'd for the Use of Ladies (translation of Algarotti's Newtonianismo per le donne)
- Philip Doddridge â The Family Expositor
- Richard Glover â London
- David Hume (anonymously) â A Treatise of Human Nature (issued late 1738 but dated this year)
- William Law â The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration
- John Mottley (as Elijah Jenkins) â Joe Miller's Jests; or, the Wits Vade-Mecum
- Robert Nugent (attributed) â An Epistle to Sir Robert Walpole[9]
- John Oldmixon â The History of England during the Reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth[10]
- Laetitia Pilkington â The Statues
- Samuel Richardson â Aesop's Fables
- Elizabeth Singer Rowe â Miscellaneous Works
- Thomas Sheridan â The Satires of Juvenal Translated
- Joseph Trapp â The Nature, Folly, Sin, and Danger, of Being Righteous Over-much (against George Whitefield)
- Voltaire
- De la Gloire, ou entretien avec un Chinois
- Conseils a M. Helvetius
- Isaac Watts â The World to Come
- George Whitefield â A Continuation of the Reverend Mr. Whitefield's Journal
- Paul Whitehead â Manners
Drama
- Daniel Bellamy â Miscellanies in Prose and Verse
- Henry Brooke â Gustavus Vasa
- Anthony Brown â The Fatal Retirement
- Henry Carey â Nancy (opera)
- Thomas Cooke â The Mournful Nuptials (not acted)
- David Mallet â Mustapha
- James Miller â An Hospital for Fools
- Edward Phillips â Britons, Strike Home
- William Shirley â The Parricide
- James Thomson â Edward and Eleonora[11]
Poetry
- Moses Browne â Poems
- Mary Collier â The Woman's Labour: an epistle to Mr Stephen Duck[12]
- Mikhail Lomonosov â Ode on the Taking of Khotin from the Turks
- Robert Nugent
- An Ode on Mr. Pulteney
- An Ode, to His Royal Highness on His Birthday
- Odes and Epistles
- Jonathan Swift â Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift
- John Wesley â Hymns and Sacred Poems
Births
- January â Twm o'r Nant, Welsh playwright and poet (died 1810)
- August 31 â Johann Augustus Eberhard, German theologian and philosopher (died 1809)
- November 20 â Jean-François de la Harpe, French critic (died 1803)
- Unknown dates
- Hugh Kelly, Irish-born dramatist and poet (died 1777)[13]
- Sophronius of Vratsa, Bulgarian writer and clergyman, early figure in the Bulgarian National Revival (died 1813)
Deaths
- June 20 â Edmond Martène, French historian (born 1654)[14]
- July 25 â Johann Christoph Wolf, German Hebrew scholar and bibliographer (born 1683)[15]
- September 4 â George Lillo, English dramatist and actor (born 1691)[16]
- October 18 â António José da Silva, Brazilian dramatist (born 1705)[17]
- probable â Liu Zhi (åæº), Chinese Muslim scholar (born c. 1660)