author
Thomas Brown
1662–1704
A sharp-tongued English satirist and translator, he is best remembered for lively prose, verse, and a famous jab at Dr. John Fell. His writing catches the rough, witty energy of late 17th-century London.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Shropshire in 1662, Thomas Brown — often called Tom Brown — studied at Christ Church, Oxford. He became known for satire, translation, and a large body of prose and verse that mixed humor with social and literary mockery.
Brown’s name has lasted in part because of the short verse linked with his clash with Dr. John Fell, but his work reached much further than that. Collections published after his death gathered letters, dialogues, poems, and comic pieces that show a quick, restless wit and a strong feel for the manners of his time.
He died in June 1704 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Though not as widely read now as some of his contemporaries, he remains an interesting voice from the world of Restoration and early 18th-century satire.