author
Eustace Budgell
1686–1737
Best known as one of the leading voices in The Spectator, this lively 18th-century writer mixed literary polish with a political career that ended in scandal. His life moved from Addison’s brilliant circle to financial ruin and a tragic death in London.
3 Audiobooks
The De Coverley Papers, From 'The Spectator'
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
The Coverley Papers, From 'The Spectator'
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
About the author
Born near Exeter in 1686, Eustace Budgell was a cousin of Joseph Addison and built his early reputation in the world of letters around Addison and Richard Steele. He studied at Trinity College, Oxford, joined the Inner Temple, and became known as an essayist rather than a practicing lawyer.
Budgell is remembered chiefly for his contributions to The Spectator, where he was one of the paper’s main writers apart from Addison and Steele. He also held public posts in Ireland and served in the Irish Parliament, showing how closely writing and politics could mix in his career.
His later years were much darker. He suffered serious financial losses in the South Sea Bubble and became involved in bitter public controversies, including accusations connected with a disputed will. In 1737 he died in London, and his dramatic end has long shaped the way readers remember him alongside his literary work.