Continued Continuations of Complete Histories: Tobias Smollett and the Work of History

Jones, Richard J. (2018). Continued Continuations of Complete Histories: Tobias Smollett and the Work of History. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 41(3) pp. 391–406.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1754-0208.12525

Abstract

Tobias Smollett wrote one of the best‐selling historical works of the eighteenth century: the Complete History of England and Continuation. By exploring the idea of ‘continuation’ – both as a form of publication and as a narrative technique – this article seeks to recover the work in which Smollett was engaged. To do so, it considers connections with David Hume's History of England. It suggests that, unlike Hume, Smollett attempted to sustain a media event – one that was supported by his work as both critic and translator. It is this that should be understood as Smollett's work of history.

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