- Listenly
- Public Library
- All Authors
- Joseph Addison
author
Joseph Addison
1672–1719
An elegant essayist, poet, and public figure of early 18th-century England, best remembered for shaping polite literary culture through periodicals like The Tatler and The Spectator. His writing mixed clarity, wit, and moral reflection in a way that influenced generations of English prose.
14 Audiobooks
The Spectator, Volume 1
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Spectator, Volumes 1, 2 and 3
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Tatler, Volume 1
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
The De Coverley Papers, From 'The Spectator'
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
The Spectator, Volume 2.
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
Cato: A Tragedy, in Five Acts
by Joseph Addison
Essays and Tales
by Joseph Addison
Days with Sir Roger De Coverley
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Tatler, Volume 2
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Poetical Works of Addison; Gay's Fables; and Somerville's Chase
by Joseph Addison, John Gay, William Somerville
The Tatler, Volume 4
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Tatler, Volume 3
by Joseph Addison, Sir Richard Steele
The Coverley Papers, From 'The Spectator'
by Joseph Addison, Eustace Budgell, Sir Richard Steele
About the author
Born in 1672, Joseph Addison was an English writer, poet, and statesman whose name is closely tied to the rise of the periodical essay. He studied at Oxford and first gained notice as a classical scholar and poet before moving into public life.
He became widely known through his work with Richard Steele on The Tatler and especially The Spectator, whose essays helped define the tone of urbane, conversational nonfiction in the early 1700s. Addison also wrote poetry and the tragedy Cato, and he held several government posts during his career.
Addison died in 1719, but his reputation lasted because of the grace and balance of his prose. He is still remembered as one of the key figures who helped make the essay a central form in English literature.